Study examines child well-being across Michigan

Ottawa County tops the list in a study that measures child and family well-being in Michigan.

The list is part of the Kids Count study released by the Michigan League for Public Policy. The study measures a county's economic security, health, family and community, and education to determine the rankings.  

Livingston, Clinton, Midland and Oakland counties round out the top five.

Kids Count Director Jane Zehnder-Merrell said the counties that performed poorly have higher poverty rates.

"When you look at the counties at the bottom of the list, you would find a pretty high correlation in these lists if you look at the poverty rate," she said.

Zehnder-Merrell also said the League is worried about more populous counties that didn't score well.

"What's troubling is when we see counties like Gennesse, Muskegon and Wayne, where some of the largest child populations in the state reside, and those counties have levels of poverty," she said.

Clare, Roscommon and Lake counties claimed the bottom three spots in the rankings.

— Joseph Lichterman, Michigan Radio Newsroom