The latest Kids Count in Michigan Data Book underscores the need to act to help children in Michigan with eight of 15 indicators of child well-being showing worsening trends.

For the first time since 1992, when the first state data book was released, the report ranks counties on the overall status of child well-being using 13 out of 15 indicators. This provides a bigger picture of local child well-being and how the county compares with others. Ottawa, Livingston and Clinton counties were ranked the best for overall child well-being while Clare, Roscommon and Lake counties were the last among the 82 counties ranked. Keweenaw County was not included in the rankings because it lacked data for most indicators.

More than a half-million children lived in poverty in 2011 (about $18,000 a year or less for a family of three) and more than 33,000 children were confirmed victims of maltreatment. Child poverty went up 28 percent over the trend period; young children qualifying for food assistance jumped by 55 percent and confirmed victims of abuse and neglect, linked to poverty, increased by 28 percent. The period covered in the book is generally 2005 to 2011.

The biggest improvements were the decline of kids in foster care, decreasing from 17,000 in 2005 to 11,000 in 2011, and a drop in fourth-graders not proficient in reading from 40 percent to 32 percent of test-takers in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program. Mortality rates for infants fell by 8 percent between 2005 and 2010 while the death rate for children/youth ages 1-19 declined 11 percent.

The Data Book clearly points to the public policies that continue to be inadequate to support ALL Michigan children and reduce disparities in child outcomes.  Specifically, Michigan needs to:

1. Address the growing poverty faced by Michigan families and communities by reinstating the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 2012 levels;
2. Address the growing shares of children who are confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect by increasing investment for family support services that reach families with infants and toddlers – those most likely to be impacted;
3. Ensure continued improvement in 4^th grade reading success by improving family access to quality early learning programs and strengthening connections between early childhood and the early elementary school years;
4. Enable higher high school graduation rates by expanding access to alternative education opportunities that utilize a fifth or sixth year of high school and connect a high school credential to community college credits or real-world work experience.

Be sure to check-out the 2012 Kids Count Data Book and see how children in your county fare.  Not sure what to do with the data? See our Advocacy handout on easy steps you can take to begin to improve public policies on behalf of Michigan children and families. Also, see our corresponding Speaking for Kids staff blog Making Sure That Kids Count More in 2013.

The 2011 Michigan Kids Count Data Book shows that growing poverty is threatening children’s health and well-being, and lowering their chances of success and the state’s chances for a bright future. The latest Data Book shows nearly a quarter of all Michigan kids were living in poverty in 2009, up from 14 percent in 2000. Even more sobering is the number of Michigan kids living in extreme poverty – less than $11,000 a year for a family of four. This number more than doubled from five percent to eleven percent – that’s more than one in every 10 kids living at half the poverty level.

School cafeteria staff see this need daily with nearly half of public school children statewide now qualifying for free and reduced price lunches. In addition to hunger, children and families in poverty lack access to the supports they need to be emotionally and physically healthy such as access to a consistent source of medical care. Ensuring access to programs that promote health can reduce childhood stress, depression, anxiety and obesity. Healthy children are better prepared when they enter school, are better able to learn in school, are more likely to graduate high school and be college or career ready.

The information in the Data Book isn't all bad. Michigan has made some progress with drops in teen birth rates, teen deaths and high school dropout rates. Additionally, more students are now considered proficient in math. Michigan also lowered its child death and infant mortality rates, although African American infants are three times less likely to celebrate a first birthday than Caucasian babies.

The Data Book clearly outlines troubling statistics for Michigan's low-income children and children of color.  To reduce disparities in outcomes for children of color and low-income children, it is critical that the foundation for lifelong success begin at birth, supports children from cradle to career, and provides families and communities the supports they need to support all children.

See the Kids Count Data Book, which includes state and county level data, on the Michigan League for Human Services website.

• Over a third (36 percent) of all Michigan kids had no parent working full-time in a year-round job in 2010, putting our state at the bottom of the list at 47th (1st being the best rank.)
• 12 percent of Michigan kids had at least one unemployed parent in 2010 who was looking for work but unable to find any.
• 217,000 children were affected by foreclosure between 2007 and 2009.
• Infants were more likely to survive their first year in 39 other states.

The Data Book also includes recommendations for policymakers, community leaders and others to improve these key indicators of well-being.  Sadly, our state leaders’ recent actions make conditions worse instead of better for our children, including implementing a 48-month lifetime cap on cash assistance and weakening the Earned income Tax Credit that helps many low-income families stay afloat.  Michigan’s kids desperately need the attention and support of our policy makers now with investments beginning at conception and extending through young adulthood. More specific policy actions are outlined in our 2011 Legislative and Administrative Policy Agenda “Creating Michigan’s Future: Ensuring Our Children are Ready to Learn and Lead.” 

The Michigan League for Human Services directs the Kids Count in Michigan project, which is supported through a partnership with Michigan’s Children.  The Michigan press release, trends in the data and talking points are all available on their web site here.

Visit the Data Book home page to download the report and create maps, graphs, and charts at the national, state, and local level.  The new mobile Data Center offers hundreds of measures of child well-being available on any smartphone.

Michigan Mothers and Their Babies: Overview and Trends 2000-2009

The Right Start in Michigan is the Kids Count annual review of mothers' and babies' well-being.  Over the decade between 2000 and 2009, Michigan improved on three of the five indicators where a trend could be calculated.

• The biggest improvement was the 13 percent decline in teen mothers who were having another baby - dropping from 21 percent to 18 percent of teen births.
• Teen births and preterm births also dropped over the decade.
• The most dramatic worsening was the 20 percent increase in births to unmarried women.
• The percentage of low-birthweight babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds rose slightly.

In 2009 more Michigan babies were born to mothers in economically insecure circumstances than in 2000. Roughly half of Michigan infants were born to low-income mothers eligible for Medicaid, and births to unmarried mothers represented roughly 40 percent of all births in 2009. Women unmarried at the birth of their child are likely to remain single parents with the heightened risk of poverty.

The full Right Start in Michigan and its Counties - 2011 report is available on the Michigan League for Human Services website.