Go rnor John Engi r' educa­
tion pI n recommen doubling
te upport for p hool pro-
grams that ter to children t
ri for failu in chool.
I t lso ys that Michi n i
blishing better coordination
with federally-fund d He d
Start programs, which are pre­
hool programs for low-income
children. Other id are men-
tioned as well.
But Benne t id he thin
that in ing tat programs
won't do any good unl they
are better publicized.
Child n," w compiled by h
di 0 of th d rtm n
EtLan ing d y care Public H Ith, Education,
provider J nnifer Bennett i tal H lth, ocial S rvi
con rn , . th Offi of rvi to th
An increa ing number of
Michigan children are living in
unh lthy nvironm nt, c­
cording to a report by the direc­
to of th five human ervi
a nci of Michigan.
And the directors f I it' time
to trengthen tate-funded pro­
grams to correct their problem .
But Benn tt id he d n't
think the state will be able to
help. "A lot of [state programs]
ound great," she aid. "But
how are you going to get people
involved? Are you going to take
them door-to-door?"
State conside
privat car
elderly p Q __ �_
By CHRIS JOHNSO
.rvlc.
USING INFORMATION
FROM the 1990 U.S. Census,
with additional information
from the Office of the State Reg­
istrar and Center for Health
Statistics, the directors found
that the status of Michigan's
children has declined over the
past decade.
"We are concerned about sev­
eral aspects of children's well­
being," Public Health Director
Vernice Davis Anthony said.
"Poverty is only one."
The report, called "Improving
the Well-being of Michigan's
_ .. t, , ...... "'-. t
By LYNN GOLUBOWSKI .
LANSING <9NS)- Wholesale
prison privatization is not the
answer, but privatizing aspects
such as the care of elderly pris­
oners could relieve the state of
some financial burden, says
House co-speaker Paul Hille­
gonds.
"The issue is whether we
should' be spending $24,000 a
year to incarcerate 70- or 80-
year-old people who may have
taken lives in their earlier years,
but do they' warrant that kind of
security today?" Hillegonds, R­
Holland said.
Hillegonds said that those
type of prisoners are scattered
all 'over Michigan's prison sys­
tem and he advocates combining
them into one facility that is set
up similar to a nursing home.
"It should be contracted out to
nursing home operators or geri­
atric housing operators," he
said.
AS OF JULY 1, prisoners
over the age of 60 accounted for
56� of the state's 39,249 prison­
ers, and that the number is
growing at a rate of 15 percent
per year, said Bill Lovett, policy
analyst for the Michigan De­
partment of Corrections.
Lovett said that those elderly
prisoners are divided into three
categories; 45 percent of whom
enter the prison system after the
age of 55, 25 percent who are
life-sentence servers, and 30
percent who are repeat offend­
ers of minor property offens
such as shop-lifting.
Currently, health care ac-
IN ADDITIO , CH LD
poverty incre ed by 36.7 per­
cent during the 1980s. From
1980 to 1990, the percentage of
children in poverty incr d
from 13 percent to 18.6 percent.
For children under fiv y of
age, the 1990 rate wa even
higher - 22 percent.
As a result of such s ati ti ,
coun for 7 million
of the $1.1 billion
budget.
Hillegond ug
creating a nu ing hom wou 1
prove to be cost ffici nt b II
the state could apply for f er I
Medicaid funds from the f d r I
government to help p y for the
cost.
"We could get 50 p r m
match from the fed if w did it
that way," he sid. "Today, we
pick up th whol . b. It' just
anoth r xampl where privati­
zation mak all oris of nso."
LOVETI AID T T he is
unclear on whether or not Hill -
gonds suggestion is legi imate
because as far h kno
Medicaid doll a nnot fund
person whil they
ated.
"I haven't had any di cu -
sions with th Legi latur y ,"
he said. "So I don't know wher
they are coming from."
Lovett also id th t h r is
not a significant num r of pri -
one who r quir nu ing hom
care in th pri on sy t m and
that they are in ome cases
healthier than the eld rly in th
general popula ion.
"Th y ar consid r 0
h althi r than h ir count
parts in h community b u
th y get a basic I v I of h lth
car ,thre meal day nd
have b n locked away from
drugs and alcoh I," h aid.
Love t aid hat a commit i
bing formed 0 study th con­
cern of aging prison' and
r port' du to Corr ions Di­
rector K nneth McGiniss by
Feb. 1.
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PRO-TEe
117 W. Harrison Bldg" Suite U 116. Chicogo
increa
1987.
B nn t id h r main con­
cern in education is prep ring
children for chool because chil­
dren re jud on what they
n do the day they tart school.
Funding will
Funding will be decateeo
that funds can be pplied to any
progr m th t fit f mili
n . Additional fede I up­
port will be sought. And re-
sou will be di tributed
on the n for ch
"Children are 5 years old
when they t to school," he
id. "How do you control those
first five years, which is when a
lot of v ry important traits are
developed?"
LOT 0 p ople don't
know those programs are out
there, "he id,
She id she thinks the hu­
man servi agencies must ex­
pand their advertising,
especially on televi ion, because
the information about programs
is often hard to get.
Also, she said program intake
workers ought to receive a bonus
of orne sort for every person eli­
gible person they ign up.
"They often spend more time
determining what you are not
eligible for than they spend
matching you with programs,"
she said. "It's like it's their own
money. I'd rather ee too many
people get aid than have pro­
grams fail due to lack of enroll­
ment."
HOLZ 0 he
believes that the go rnment
has a ponsibility to its citi­
zens when they need help, He
added he does not believe it is
intrusive of th government to
try to straighten out family con­
cerns. "As long a programs are
voluntary, I don't- believe they
are intrusive," he said. "Or if
there are requiremen for re­
ceiving state aid, I don't think
e government is wrong."
The report concludes with a
comprehensive list of 110 tate
programs that are available for
children and their families. A
copy can be obtained by calling
any of the report's contributing
departments.
HE T hi next
priority would improving the
education of Michigan children.
The r port how that the
high school dropout rein
Michigan h increased from 5.2
percent to 6 percent in the I t
decade. Nearly 25,000 Michi-
TT, 0 ER
I mentary chool teacher, said
many children tart out with a
disadvantage. For example, she
explained that children from
v riou ethnic backgrounds are
often taught by their families
not to interrupt adults who are
s king. As a r ult, they come
to chool with no idea how to ask
questions. That ability, she
aid, is critical in today's class­
rooms.
"I'm not saying the famili
are wrong," she id. "I think
t ch rs n ed to take that into
account. And how do you get
teach rs to do th t?"
The report mentions that
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