Report: Mich slips in child well-being

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's poor economy is taking a toll on children, particularly when compared with elsewhere in the nation, according to a report released Tuesday.

Michigan slipped to 30th in state-by-state overall rankings of child well-being in the annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation . Michigan had ranked 27th in the previous report.

Michigan has had the nation's highest unemployment rate for much of the past four years and that's reflected in the rankings, which are based primarily on data from 2007 and 2008.

Michigan ranked 44th among the states with 31 percent of children living in families where no parent had full-time, year-round employment in 2008. The national average was 27 percent.

"We hear a lot about unemployment, but I don't think people think about how that has an impact on kids," said Jane
Zehnder-Merrell, the state's Kids Count director and a senior research associate with the Michigan League for Human Services. "When families don't have enough income or resources, their kids are continuing to grow and develop. You don't get a second chance."

The Kids Count report says 19 percent of Michigan children under age 18 lived in poverty in 2008, up from 14 percent in 2000. Poverty was defined in 2008 as income below $21,834 for a family of four.

Michigan ranked 32nd among states in child poverty in 2008. The state's poverty rankings likely have worsened since 2008. Michigan's latest jobless rate, 13.2 percent in June, is up from 8 percent two years ago.

"We know the numbers for 2009 are going to reflect a much more dismal picture," Zehnder-Merrell said.

Michigan ranked 40th in infant mortality with 7.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007. The national average was 6.7 deaths.

"This report reconfirms the urgency to work to improve the survival rates of babies in Michigan," Amy Zaagman, executive
director of the Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health, said in a statement.

Michigan's infant mortality rate in 2008 improved to 7.4 deaths per 1,000 births, but that data was not included in the Kids Count report.

The report says 8 percent of Michigan teens were neither working nor attending school in 2008, mirroring the national average.

Michigan had above-average rankings in several other categories, including child and teen death rates and teen birth rates.

New Hampshire, Minnesota and Vermont rank highest in the Kids Count survey overall. Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi rank lowest.