Child poverty in Michagan - one of every five children in Michigan lived in a family with an income below the federal poverty level.

DETROIT - A recent Kids Count report says that in 2007, one of every five children in Michigan lived in a family with an income below the federal poverty level.

The report, a product of the partnership between the Michigan League for Human Services and the advocacy group Michigan's Children, provides a county-by-county snapshot of income, health, education and other measures related to child welfare.
Showing that poverty can be found throughout the state, three rural counties in the northern half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Clare, Lake and Roscommon, had child poverty rates above 32%, the highest rates in the state.

Overall however, poverty rates were higher in families from urban areas.

The poverty rate in populous Wayne County where Detroit is located was 31 percent, the fourth-highest rate among Michigan's 83 counties. In the city itself, where the unemployment rate is close to fifty percent, the rate for 2007 was a shocking 45 percent.

Poverty was defined as having income below $17,000 for a family of three led by a single parent or $21,000 for a family of four with two parents. Trying to feed, clothe and house a family on either figure is a near impossible task, making the real level of poverty much higher.
Michigan's budget crisis is another source of pain for parents and their children. The budget for the 2010 fiscal year is loaded with cuts.

rest at http://peoplesworld.org/child-poverty-in-michagen/