It's 2024, it's MLK Day and yet we still read articles like the following…
The Race for Results index standardizes scores across 12 indicators that represent well-being milestones from infancy to adulthood, with indicators across four areas: early childhood, family resources, neighborhood context, and education and early work experiences.
No group came close to the index’s maximum score of 1,000; the highest-scoring group in Michigan was Asian and Pacific Islanders, who received an 800. Black children in the state were notably far behind, scoring just 268 on the index. White children were measured at 660, American Indians came in at 565, those identifying as two or more races scored 515 and Latinos had the next-to-lowest index score of 479.
“Everyone always says, well, how are we going to pay for it?” said [Michigan League for Public Policy's Kids Count in Michigan Policy Director Anne] Kuhnen. “And I mean, the answer to that question is really, what are our priorities? Is reducing child poverty a priority for our state?” But Michigan did take other actions to help kids, including providing free school meals for every public school student in the last budget. Kuhnen said she’d like to see that provision made permanent.
[Emphasis mine -- RR]
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