Michigan
State Government
Governor
Gretchen Whitmer (D)
State Senate
20
Democrats,
18
Republicans
State House
56
Democrats,
54
Republicans
Economic well-being - Michigan
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.2
Minimum wage
12.5
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.3
Poverty rate
13.4%
Unemployment rate
5.2
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.1
Poverty by demographic - Michigan
Child poverty rate
0.2
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
18000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
193000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
89000
Senior poverty rate
10.6 %
Women in poverty
5,034,424
The Detroit News, June 10, 2014: DPS blames technical difficulties after failing to apply for $4M in Head Start funds
"Detroit Public Schools cited technical difficulties' for failing to apply for Head Start funding for the fall, leaving the teachers union crying foul over the loss of the federal grant that serves low-income preschoolers."
The Sentinel-Standard, December 26, 2013: Kids Count Report: Ionia County child poverty rate escalates
"More Ionia County kids are growing up in families struggling to make ends meet, according to the 2013 Kids Count in Michigan report, which offers clear steps to a brighter future for those children."
The Detroit Free Press, December 19, 2013: $52M federal grant will benefit education of 182,000 low-income Michigan children
"Michigan has about 182,000 children ages 3 to kindergarten from low-income families who will benefit from the federal grant, State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said."
The Daily Press, December 18, 2013: More local children living in poverty
"More children in Delta, Schoolcraft, and Menominee counties are growing up in families who are struggling to make ends meet, according to new figures released Tuesday through the 2013 Kids Count in Michigan report."
The Detroit News, December 16, 2013: Wayne State's new first lady tackles homelessness
"Wilson, who married WSU President M. Roy Wilson on Dec. 7, couldn't believe it. Soon after, she decided to find ways to ease the challenges homeless students face so they could get their degrees and turn their lives around. With the support of her husband and others, Jacqueline Wilson intends to champion the cause of homelessness on campus and in Detroit as Wayne State's first lady."
The Detroit Free-Press, November 10, 2013: (Op-Ed) Jane Zehnder-Merrell: Brighter children starts with giving them brighter futures
"The report looked at an alarming new analysis of a longitudinal study that tracked 13,000 children in kindergarten in 1998-99. By third grade, only 36% of children were on track in the cognitive knowledge and skills area. Fewer children in low-income families, only 19%, were on track by third grade, and just 14% of African-American children, and 19% of Hispanic children scored at or above the national average on math, reading and science."