Gov. Whitmer Creates Task Force to Address Poverty In Michigan
The task force will research and craft strategies coordinating the state’s response to reduce poverty, and will be led by the heads of various state agencies.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is establishing a taskforce to study poverty in Michigan, signing an executive order on Wed., Dec. 18, that creates an advisory body led by the heads of various state agencies.
The group will research and craft strategies coordinating the state’s response to reduce poverty, including creating workgroups to craft recommendations.
“It needs to be neighbors, it needs to be community organizations on there also because we are the foot soldiers.” – Reverend Aaron McCarthy, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
“This is not simply a process where we put a report out or we’re doing this program and that’s the end of it,” says Jeff Donofrio, director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. He says the task force is more than just a one-off.
“This is going to be ongoing, I think, throughout the governor’s administration where we’re asking people to help us understand what’s working, what’s not and what can we do better together?”
The Michigan Poverty Task Force is expected to meet for its inaugural session early next year.
One in Five Children In Poverty in Michigan
The executive order creates a separate advisory council to the task force which includes lawmakers from both urban and rural areas impacted by poverty.
State Representative Tyrone Carter says he’s familiar with poverty in his own Detroit River-adjacent district.
“I see it, but I see it from my perspective,” says State Rep. Carter. “This gives us an opportunity to get a holistic perspective from everybody.”
But some are concerned that the groups won’t adequately reflect perspectives from those in poverty.
“It needs to be neighbors, it needs to be community organizations on there also because we are the foot soldiers,” says Reverend Aaron McCarthy, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and head of the Poor Peoples’ Campaign in Detroit.
According to a report cited by the state, one in five children in Michigan live in poverty.
