Kids Count Shows More Michigan Children are Living in Poverty

The number of children in Michigan living in poverty continues to grow, according to a new Kids Count report.

The Kids Count in Michigan Data Book 2016 shows nearly one in four children live in poverty, a 23-percent increase over the six years measured in the report.

Alicia Guevara Warren of Kids Count Michigan says full-time minimum wage earnings are partly to blame for the numbers because it’s not enough to lift someone out of poverty.

She says another problem is that about a third of kids living in poverty are in families where no parent has secure full-time employment.

Guevara Warren says ways policymakers can help child well-being is more investment in local communities, hiking the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor, and ensuring access to affordable, quality child care.