Advocates Need Legislators to Know That Kids Count in Michigan

Every year the Michigan League for Human Services produces the Kids Count Data Book, an annual review of child well-being with a profile of every county and the city of Detroit.  The book can be purchased or downloaded from the League website.  As a project partner, we’ll be posting blogs highlighting critical information outlined in the 2011 Data Book and pointing toward related policy strategies.  But, before we get into that, let’s talk about the most important take-away from this release.

Term limits have dictated that this legislature is still inexperienced.   Despite this, they are faced with difficult decisions about investment in the face of Michigan’s economic crisis.   This further complicates the huge challenge they face to invest in critical policy and program in the face of our economic crisis in Michigan.  Policymakers will need your expertise and guidance to make sure that they have all of the information they need to make good policy choices.

Data from the Kids Count 2011 Data Book provides a broad picture of the status of children and families and connects the dots between outcomes for kids and the systems that serve them well or fail to do so. This information is a useful conversation starter as you are talking to your elected officials.  If you’ve never talked with them before or if you talk with them routinely, local Kids Count data can help to frame your conversation.  Asking policymakers what they think about the data, and what plans they have to help address some of the issues of concern is a good place to start. Helping policymakers understand the context behind some of the numbers is even more valuable. Where there have been improvements, have there been community efforts that have impacted the situation? Or have there been cuts in programs and services that have resulted in worsening data in an area?

Constituent conversation with policymakers is critical! Kids Count project staff provide copies of the Data Book to each legislative office, and utilize the information in conversation with legislators and their staff throughout the year. However, when surveyed, legislators say that the way they find out about children and families in their area is from their constituents. Most were familiar with the Kids Count data, but the legislators who really utilized the information were those who had discussed it with their constituents.

There are many examples of decision making indicating that policymakers need our help.  One example is the unrelenting data about increases in child poverty, (including unacceptable increases in children and families living in extreme poverty, with incomes below half of the federal poverty level) and equally unrelenting evidence that time spent in poverty contributes to a myriad of challenges faced by children throughout their lives.  Despite this, the Legislature decided to:  1. virtually eliminate the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit – a program that has successfully moved families with children out of extreme poverty and in many cases out of poverty all together; 2. remove the assistance life-line of thousands of poor families who simply found themselves unable to find a job for too long a time in our current unfriendly economy; and 3.  determined that owning reliable transportation in a state that requires the use of a car to successfully navigate nearly every community, deemed a family unworthy of basic Food Assistance, regardless of actual income.

We need you to weigh into policy decisions.  Contact Michigan’s Children’s staff for more information about talking with your elected officials.  We are here to help.  Access our library of materials to help you make your case, and stay involved with us through our Action Networks.

-Michele Corey

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