An eye-opening study regarding the well-being of children across the nation is putting Michigan in the spotlight -- and not for good reasons.
Michigan fares the worst among all other states when it comes to opportunity and growth available for African American children, according from data compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation for its 2017 Race for Results Policy Report.
The study takes into account education, health and economic milestones to measure the progress of our youth at the state and national level.
Michigan Radio's analysis of the report:
"The report shows that African American fourth-graders in Michigan are reading proficient at the lowest rate in the country. The math proficiency rate for eighth-grade African American kids is tied with Alabama for the lowest in the country."
The Michigan League for Public Policy released a statement after the report was published.
It read in part: “Seeing how our kids in Michigan fare compared to national numbers is startling. We are failing all of our children, especially our kids of color, and we need policies to remove barriers that have created systemic inequities."
In the release, CEO of Black Family Development, Inc. Alice Thompson called for a reform in the state's policies.
“Michigan is not the best state for meeting the needs of African-American kids,” stated Thompson in the news release. “At a time when racial tensions are running high in our nation, our government and our society are letting these kids down and leaving them behind. ‘Separate but equal’ was a foolish and flawed policy, but so is ‘Together but inequitable.’ We need to help all kids move up together, and we’re going to need an overhaul of our policy approach to do that.”
The state doesn't exactly rank stellar for white children either. According to the study, Michigan ranks 36th when compared nationally.
The Detroit News dug further into the report about Latino children:
"Latino children in Michigan also lag behind on key milestones, compared with children from other ethnic groups, but fared above average compared with Latino kids in other states, the study found."
Check out the full study below:
2017RaceforResults FINAL by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
