Michigan Council for Maternal Child Health Friday Notes July 25, 2014

July 25, 2014

In this issue:
Primary Elections Aug. 5: Support Those Who Support Healthcare
25 Years of KIDS COUNT show Long-term Gains, Losses
DHS Partners with GVSU, Kellogg to Evaluate 'Pathways to Potential' Impact

 

Primary Elections Aug. 5: Support Those who Support Healthcare

As the August 5 primary for the general election quickly approaches, several current legislators who have been key supporters for healthcare related public policies, including the Healthy Michigan Plan, need our help as those key votes are being used against them by primary opponents.  Many of these races will be decided by the primary election.

MCMCH encourages members and fellow advocates to think of all ways that you can make sure these candidates have support and can continue working with us.

It's always helpful to contact the campaign directly to see how best to help; some suggested volunteer activities include:

Reminding your employees and/or grassroots network to voteEducating your employees and/or grassroots network of your endorsed candidates*Walking door-to-door in districtWriting letters to the editor of local newspapers

*please be mindful of the limits on your legal ability to suggest whom to vote for

The following candidates face primary challengers have been supportive of healthcare related policies:

Running for reelection to their current seat:

Rep. Anthony Forlini - Harrison, Clinton, and Macomb Townships

Rep. Frank Foster - Chippewa, Emmet, and Mackinac Counties; Koehler, Beaugrand, Hebron, Mackinaw, and Munro Townships; City of Cheboygan

Sen. Goeff Hansen -Oceana, Muskegon, and Newaygo Counties

Rep. Brad Jacobsen - Oxford, Orion, Oakland, Addison, Brandon Townships

Rep. Klint Kesto - Wixom, Commerce Township, West Bloomfield Township, Village of Wolverine Lake

Sen. Mike Kowall - Orchard Lake, White Lake Township, Commerce Township, West Bloomfield Township, Walled Lake, Wixom, Novi, Lyon Township, Milford Township, and South Lyon

Running for US Congress to replace retiring US Rep Dave Camp:

Sen. John Moolenaar - Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Osceola, Clare, Gladwin, Mescosta, Isabella, Midland, Montcalm, Gratiot, Saginaw, Clinton, and Shiawassee Counties

Running for State Senate:

Rep. Wayne Schmidt - Luce, Mackinac, Chippewa, Emmet, Cheboygan, Charlevoix, Antrim, and Grand Traverse Counties

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25 Years of KIDS COUNT Show Long-term Gains, Losses

In the 25 years since the launch of the first KIDS COUNT Data Book, fewer Michigan teens are having babies and fewer children and teens die each year. During the same period, however, the number of children living in poverty dramatically worsened and Michigan tumbled in education rankings.

In the newly released 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book, Michigan is ranked No. 32, placing it behind 31 other states for overall child well-being, down one slot since last year.

"As we mark 25 years of tracking child well-being, it's heartening to know that we've made progress in some key areas, and it's clear that good public policy made a difference,'' said Gilda Z. Jacobs, president & CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy, the Michigan partner for KIDS COUNT. "Michigan's overall ranking, however, puts us in the bottom half of the country, and this is not acceptable. We must redouble our efforts to make Michigan a great place to raise a child.''

Among the recommendations cited to improve Michigan's child well-being:

Restore education funding cut since the start of the Great Recession, with a focus on making sure kids can read by the end of third grade.Increase child care payments to help working parents.Invest in strategies to reduce the 8.4 percent of Michigan babies born too small, particularly in communities of color.

Since the first KIDS COUNT report was released, the rate of births per 1,000 Michigan teens improved by 56 percent, falling from 59 births to 26 births per 1,000 teens.

Michigan's worsening trends since 1990 included the 39 percent increase in the share of children living in poverty with one in every four children living in poverty. Also worsening was a 36 percent increase in the share of children living in unaffordable housing, defined as consuming 30 percent or more of the household income. More than one in every three kids lives in such a household.

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DHS Partners with GVSU, Kellogg to Evaluate 'Pathways to Potential' Impact

The Michigan Department of Human Services announced this week that it will partner with Grand Valley State University and the Kellogg Foundation to measure the impact of the Pathways to Potential program in Michigan.

Pathways to Potential is a DHS program that places caseworkers in Michigan schools to help remove barriers to student success. Through a three-year, $1.05 million grant, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, DHS will partner with the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy's Community Research Institute at Grand Valley State University to study Pathways.
The Johnson Center will evaluate the impact of Pathways to Potential - which is now in 169 Michigan schools - in working with children and families to address barriers to safety, health, education, attendance and self-sufficiency.
DHS caseworkers called success coaches are stationed in schools so they are available to provide services to families rather than having families visit government offices to seek assistance. Pathways to Potential is now operating in schools in 13 counties - Genesee, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Macomb, Midland, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oakland, Ogemaw, Roscommon, Saginaw, St. Clair and Wayne.
At the direction of Gov. Rick Snyder, DHS began Pathways to Potential in 2012 at schools in Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw.
The Johnson Center will examine data from Pathways schools and conduct surveys of parents, teachers and students. It will assess whether different Pathways models work better in different schools and evaluate whether schools that have better connections with community partners - a goal of Pathways to Potential - have greater gains in student outcomes. The evaluation also will analyze the return on investment for the school initiative, according to the department.

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Contributors to this Issue Gongwer News Service HealthDay Michigan League for Public Policy __________________________________________________________

Quick Links . . .

Nominations for 2014 AIM Awards

The AIM Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes individuals, community groups, or corporations for contributions to raising awareness and improving immunizations.

They are now accepting nominations for the 2014 Outstanding Achievement Award. Nominations must be submitted by close of business on Monday, August 25, 2014.

A panel of individuals representing the AIM Coalition will review nominations. Nominators will be informed if their nominee has been selected and winners will be announced at a Fall Regional Immunization Conference and the November AIM meeting. The nomination form is available here.

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Moving Toward Solutions Conference: August 17-19

The 7th Annual Moving Toward Solutions: Addressing Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Michigan Conference will be held August 17-19 at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest. The deadline for the early bird registration is August 11 and for the discounted hotel rate it is July 28. More information and online registration is available here.

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Register Now for Tomorrow's Child Jungle Jubilee Events, August 9 in Detroit, October 4 in Lansing

The Tomorrow's Child Jungle Jubilee at the Detroit Zoo will be held Saturday, August 9, from 7 a.m. - noon, and at Potter Park zoo in Lansing on Saturday, October 4, featuring a 5K Run/Walk at 9 a.m. More information and registration or both events is available here.

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Targeting Parents Along With Overweight Kids Benefits Both

Using a behavioral intervention to target preschool-aged overweight children and their parents is efficacious for both children and parents, according to a study published online July 21 in Pediatrics.

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Obesity During Pregnancy Linked to Raised Asthma Risk in Kids

Women who are obese during pregnancy may be more likely to have children with asthma than normal-weight mothers, a new review suggests.

"We found that, compared with children born from mothers of normal weight, those whose mothers were overweight or obese during pregnancy had up to 20 to 30 percent higher odds of asthma," said lead researcher Dr. Erick Forno, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

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