GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – New data has been released examining child well-being across the state of Michigan and in local communities.
It’s part of the annual Kids Count Data Project released by the Michigan League for Public Policy.
For the first time ever, there’s a profile for the City of Grand Rapids. The data shows while positive changes have been made across the city in some categories, there’s still room for improvement.
Before the pandemic, great strides were being made in decreasing child and young adult poverty.
If you look closely at the new data set, it reveals that Grand Rapids has a lower median income than the rest of the state and county, and there are clear disparities between income and the high cost of housing in the city.
About a third of Grand Rapids households are spending a disproportionate amount of their income on housing.
According to the profile, Grand Rapids also has a higher percentage of children living in areas of what’s considered concentrated poverty.
Something that made a big difference in pulling some families out of poverty was COVID-era policies like the federal child tax credit.
“Let’s continue some of those COVID-era policies, particularly around the child tax credit and earned income tax credit, because it can make a difference for families today,” said Kelsey Purdue, director of the Kids Count in Michigan Project. “And there are a number of other recommendations in the report that are short term in nature and give us something to work towards and focus our effort to really move the needle and improve child wellbeing.”
On a positive note, the report does point out that new investments in building affordable housing are being made at the city and county level.
But Purdue says more housing for low- and moderate-income households needs to be built in opportunity rich areas with access to good-paying jobs and strong schools.
Purdue says another highlight for Grand Rapids is that more kids are tested for lead here in Grand Rapids than other parts of the state, which is good thing because it means those with elevated blood lead levels can get the care they need.
To see the full report, click here.
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