Kids living in poverty on rise, study says

Source: The Detroit Free Press
By: Jack Kresnak, Free Press Staff Writer
Published: April 24, 2007

While the number of births in Wayne County has declined, more of the county's children are living in poverty, according to a study released Monday.

Spending on programs to help children in their first years of life -- when brain development is the most rapid -- will prevent problems later, said officials with Great Start, a Wayne County collaborative.

The study was conducted for Great Start by Kurt Metzger of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, who said the percentage of children under age 6 living in poverty in Detroit grew from 37% in 1999 to almost 46% in 2005. The percentage of those children living in poverty in Wayne County outside Detroit rose from almost 25% to just below 30%.

Metzger said there were 40,680 births in 1990 and 27,422 in 2005, a 33% drop.

Of every 100 babies born in Wayne County in 2004, 29 did not have adequate prenatal care and one in four babies in the county was born to a mother without a high school diploma. Both are indicators that the children will struggle in school, Metzger said.

There was some good news: The percentage of Wayne County children tested and found to have lead poisoning dropped to 5.2% in 2005; it was 9.5% in 2001.

John Colina, president of the Southgate-based Colina Foundation and a member of Great Start, said that for every dollar spent on early childhood development, the public receives $17 in benefits that include a better-educated and higher-earning workforce and fewer children failing in school and going on to be criminals.

For more information about Great Start, including how to get involved, go to www.greatstartcollaborativewayne.org. Contact JACK KRESNAK at jkresnak@freepress.com.

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