How Well Are Michigan's Kids Doing?

LANSING, Mich. (WWJ) - How well are kids in Michigan doing? The latest Kids Count report puts the state's kids 31st among the country's 50 states in terms of their well-being.

Judy Putnam of the Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) says our state is near the bottom when it comes to the percent of kids living in high-poverty areas.

"So what this means is that kids might live in a household that's not in poverty, but if they're in the neighborhood, they're subject to the crime and violence and lack of services that a high-poverty neighborhood is characterized by," Putnam WWJ Newsradio 950.

Michigan was fourth in the U.S. for health care coverage, with 96-percent of kids covered by public or private plans. But Putnam says MLPP supports Medicaid expansion in the state.

"We do support the expansion of Medicaid," Putnam said. "We believe that will help with pre-conception help. Often, women do not get insurance; they do not get health care coverage until they become pregnant, so covering them before they become pregnant, will help children."

There was some good news for Michigan. The state did see a drop in teen births and high school dropout rates.

The annual report factors in poverty rates, education, cases of abuse and neglect, and births to teens and unwed mothers.