Youth Data Resources

The Great Lakes Center for Youth Development (GLCYD) seeks to make available the very best in data resources for informing public policy, education, and intervention regarding the health and well-being of Upper Peninsula youth. Since many excellent resources already exist – and they are being updated regularly – we list here key resources that will help you in your local efforts. Many of these websites will provide you with the ability to construct community-specific summary data tables and figures. Moreover, many provide policy and programmatic information that can help to inform decision-making at the local and regional levels.

This section of the GLCYD website will be updated regularly. We would appreciate your assistance by informing us when you identify a resource at the local, state or national level that you believe would be helpful to colleagues across the Upper Peninsula. You can e-mail your suggestions to Judy Watson Olson.

Kids Count

2011 Kids Count Data (New)

The 2011 Michigan Kids Count Data Book theme is “Health Matters”. Data is provided in topic areas such as Economic Security, Child Health, Adolescence, Child Safety and Education along with individual county profiles. Major trends reflect Michigan’s long economic recession and the struggles faced by low-income families. Each county is ranked on 16 indicators of child well-being: www.milhs.org/kids-count/mi-data-book-2011

A special U.P. profile called “Trends in Child Well-Being 2000-2008/09 was prepared for us by the Michigan League for Human Services, the organization that manages Kids Count for Michigan. www.milhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/UPKC2011.pdf
Important data points include:

The youth population has dropped from 2000 to 2010 by 13.4%, from 70,330 to 60,874
U.P. students receiving free and reduced lunches has increased from 38.7% of students to 46.3%, almost one in every two students
U.P. children living in poverty is now one out of every five children (20%)
Confirmed victims of abuse and neglect has almost doubled to 945 U.P. children in 2010 (there were 585 confirmed victims of abuse and neglect in 2000)

2010 Kids Count Data

Michigan data book for 2010
Michigan - Background Information & Trends in Child Well-Being 2000–2008/09**
Upper Peninsula - Background Information
Upper Peninsula - Trends in Child Well-Being 2000—2008/09**
Marquette - Background Information
Marquette - Trends in Child Well-Being 2000–2008/09**
Rural Counties - Background Information
Rural Counties - Trends in Child Well-Being 2000–2008/09**

KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. New data and resources are added regularly, and data reports, tables, and graphs are easily created by state and regions of the country.

The Kids Count databook is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation that compiles health and wellbeing trends from around the nation. Through the Michigan League for Human Services, we are able to get the data presented for children in the Upper Peninsula. This is a valuable resource for data about the health and welfare of youth and children in the U.P.

The KIDS COUNT IN MICHIGAN DATA BOOK provides Michigan-specific results in a variety of forms regarding child well-being. These results are available at the county level as well and are a tremendous resource for all those interested in youth in the Upper Peninsula; it is provided by the Michigan League for Human Services (www.milhs.org/kids-count). An executive summary of Kids Count in Michigan information can be found at: www.milhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ExecutiveSummKC10.pdf and Michigan Trend and Background Profiles at: www.milhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/KC2010MIprofile.pdf.

Child Population Falls

The child population in Michigan fell in almost every county including all 15 U.P. counties based on 2010 census data. You can see the percentage of lost at: http://media.mlive.com/news_impact/other/Census-2010-Michigan-children.pdf.

Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency (MARESA)

MARESA provides a variety of information regarding education in Marquette and Alger Counties as well as links to critical education sites in Michigan and the United States
(www.maresa.org/maresa/site/default.asp).

University of Michigan – Health Data

The UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN has compiled a comprehensive resource of data related to health (including children’s health) on the internet that can be accessed at www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/sthealth.html.

Marquette County Health Department

The MARQUETTE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT is an excellent resource for information and education regarding health issues affecting youth in the mid-Upper Peninsula (www.co.marquette.mi.us/departments/health_department/index.htm).

Michigan Department of Education

The MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION provides data (e.g., test scores), resources, and other pertinent information at www.michigan.gov/mde/1,1607,7-140-5233---,00.html.