State of Michigan

A new data map showcasing diverse indicators of poverty and well-being throughout Michigan highlights the key challenges confronting residents in different parts of the state and suggests interventions for the state’s most critical needs.Poverty...

Achieving Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s aim of universal Pre-K, made in her State of the State address in January 2023, will require building upon its established programs and making some adjustments to the state’s education...

Barry Rabe, Bridge Michigan: While policy changes tend to face long and uncertain paths to passage in Lansing, Democrats could advance their environmental agenda by spending that money strategically, said Barry Rabe, a University of Michigan...

Barry Rabe, Bridge Detroit: "I wouldn’t necessarily lowball expectations. But I would temper those against the fact that the margins are narrow, there’s a saturated agenda, a very inexperienced legislature and the 2024 elections are already...

Two years after Michigan's auto insurance overhaul, experts are still waiting for the system to figure itself out and for insurance rates to drop, Amanda Nothaft, senior data and evaluation manager, explained. "I think the actuarial models take a...

Last week, the city of Detroit filed a claim with the Census Bureau, arguing its residents were undercounted in 2020. Ford School lecturer Reynolds Farley discussed the undercount.  “This census was deficient in Detroit,” he said. “They didn’t...

Abdul El-Sayed, Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence, urges lawmakers to stop making auto insurance double as health insurance in a recent op-ed for Crain's Business Detroit. "As Michiganders know all too well, we pay more for auto...

Improving literacy outcomes for children is critical to students’ academic success as well as their career and life outcomes. Michigan's Top 10 Strategic Education Plan (SEP) aims to provide focused direction to Michigan's education community in...

Joe Schwarz, lecturer in public policy, weighed in on two bills passed in the Michigan House of Representatives this week. The bills would make conducting medical research on stem cells derived from abortions a five-year felony. "That is...

With a predicted state surplus, Governor Whitmer is set to propose a plan that would give teachers bonuses, invest in mental health professionals, expand free preschool, and more. Jonathan Hanson, lecturer in statistics for public policy, weighed in...

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is preparing for the 2022 election. So far, her Republican opponents don't seem viable based on their extreme views.  “If the GOP nominates QAnon conspiracy theorists, Benson will have an easier path...

For the first time since 1900, Michigan's death rate is higher than its birth rate. This could impact everything from the economy to political power to school districts.  "Having a smaller population is not inherently bad, but adjusting to that...

ANN ARBOR—Michigan's auto insurance reform law has contributed to an 18% drop in average premium costs from 2019 to 2020—the steepest decline in the country over that time period, according to new analysis by Poverty Solutions at the University of...

In a flurry of articles in E&E News, Barry Rabe commented on the state of environmental policy as Congress weighs climate measures in the reconciliation bill, the Environmental Protection Agency writes power plant regulations, and midwestern states...

The state of Michigan has again seen a population decrease following the release of the 2020 census, resulting in a loss of another congressional district. Reynolds Farley, research scientist at the Population Studies Center and a lecturer at the...

Thanks to a generous gift from Ann Bentley and the Alvin M. Bentley Foundation in 2020 and in 2021, 10 MPP students were able to secure required summer internships without worrying about costs or income.  “Funding support enables Ford School...

The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) has awarded the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy with its 2020 Social Equity Award, which honors a public policy, affairs, or administration program that exemplifies...

The state of Michigan is offering free college tuition for frontline workers in a unique program inspired by the G.I. Bill that provided college education to those serving their country after WWII. Futures For Frontliners , first announced in April...