LANSING, Mich. – Children's advocates say Michigan is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to ensuring its kids get the best start in life.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book, released today, ranks the state 32nd nationally for overall child well-being, falling behind all other Great Lakes states.
Alicia Guevara Warren, KIDS COUNT project director with the Michigan League for Public Policy, says education is a particular sore spot, with the state ranking a dismal 41st.
"We need to a lot more when it comes to educating our kids. When we look at the disparities that exist for kids of color and for those who are living in high-poverty neighborhoods, we know that race, place and income matter for educational outcomes," Warren says, "and that it's really important to look at ways to improve this."
She adds in Michigan, 71 percent of eighth-graders are performing below proficiency in math, and 71 percent of fourth graders aren't reading at grade-level. The report ranked the state 31st in economic well-being, 17th in health and 29th in the area of family and community.
Warren explains the findings illustrate that many of Michigan's working families are still struggling after the recession. One in five kids is poor, 32 percent of children have parents without secure employment, and 17 percent live in high-poverty neighborhoods.
"When families are living in toxic stress, when they're exposed to communities where there are limited resources and fewer opportunities, it makes it really difficult to do well in school and have better health outcomes," she states. "And really, all of that carries with them into adulthood."
A bright spot for Michigan in the report is that 97 percent of kids are now covered by health insurance, an improvement on the national average of 95 percent.
Laura Speer, associate director for Policy Reform and Advocacy at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, calls that a tremendous achievement that should not be jeopardized.
"This is a real success story, and we want to acknowledge the fact that the country has made a significant investment, and that we have the highest percent of kids with health insurance coverage that we've ever had as a country," says Speer, "and we want to keep those gains."
The report credits key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, as well as investments in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, for the historic number of kids with health insurance.
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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a recent study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about life prospects.
The study, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence found students who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about both academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.
Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.
"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."
Maryland requires county boards of education to track and report on bullying. This year's report showed there were more than 7,800 incidences of bullying reported during the 2022-23 school year, an increase of 25% over the year prior.
Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Earlier research showed relational victimization had negative effects on elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also an educational priority.
"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence based large scale school interventions for bullying."
Maryland's State Department of Education adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment and intimidation in 2009 and has updated it in the years since. Last year the department began offering an online introduction to bullying prevention for educators.
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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a new study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about their future.
Researchers found adolescents who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.
Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.
"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."
The study began with more than 300 9th graders at 38 different high schools across Michigan. Students completed online surveys multiple times per year over three years.
Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Prior research established relational victimization affected elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also as an educational priority.
"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti-bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence-based large-scale school interventions for bullying."
She added it is important to have strong communication between researchers, policymakers and administrators to address bullying so it is not too burdensome for schools and is backed by what researchers have learned.
Disclosure: Wayne State University contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Education, Environment, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today.
In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators earned a 100% rating.
Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health and research at the nonprofit Children Now Action Fund, said the scoring reflects more than how lawmakers vote.
"They voted the right way on health and child welfare, child care, education," Hardy outlined. "They also supported kids in the budget, which is not always an easy thing to do when we've got budget deficits."
The lowest scores hovered around 48%, awarded to lawmakers who voted against certain bills but also voted for proposals like forced outing policies for LGBTQ+ students in schools.
Hardy noted the report is intended to inform voters as they head to the ballot box next month.
"Kids may not vote but we want to elect legislators who do their best to support kids," Hardy explained.
California ranks 35th in the nation for child well-being, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation report and is just above the national average for per-pupil spending on K-12 education.
Disclosure: Children Now/Kids Count contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, and Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
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