Michigan Poverty Task Force

Lifting Michiganders Out of Poverty

"No parent should have to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table for their families. That's why I've charged this task force with identifying more ways we can lift families up and ensure they can build a good life for themselves here in Michigan. I plan to work very closely with this team to ensure that every parent can feed their families with healthy, nutritious food, put a roof over their heads, and keep them warm in the winter." - Governor Whitmer

According to Michigan Association of United Ways ALICE report, 1.7 million Michigan households struggle to afford the basic necessities of housing, child care, food, technology, health care and transportation.

While there are already many efforts underway throughout state government to assist individuals living in poverty, the Michigan Poverty Task Force is committed to finding ways to strengthen, broaden, coordinate and streamline those efforts, ensuring that Michigan families have access to the support they need.

Spotlight

Grant Opportunity: Housing Access for Justice-Involved Individuals

Until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, May 19, 2025, LEO is issuing a Request for Proposals for the Housing Access for Justice-Involved Individuals Pilot Program, which is designed to support justice-involved individuals with finding and obtaining housing, while also increasing the number of landlords in the selected area who are willing to rent to justice-involved individuals through targeted education and incentives.

Until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, May 19, 2025, LEO is issuing a separate Request for Proposals to support program management and evaluation of the Housing Access for Justice-Involved Individuals Pilot Program. LEO seeks to partner with an organization that shares the state’s commitment and has demonstrated expertise in engaging and supporting justice-involved individuals.

Visit the Housing Pilot page

Poverty Task Force News

MI Impact Grant

In February 2021, the Michigan Poverty Task Force released a report detailing 35 recommendations that would help to improve the lives of those in the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population and other low-income Michiganders. These recommendations focus on what state government can and should do to help eradicate poverty.

Included in the report were recommendations centered around the state’s use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, including conducting an in-depth study of the effectiveness of TANF distribution. LEO contracted with the University of Kansas’s Center for Public Partnerships & Research to conduct a comprehensive study to determine if the state’s current approach to TANF distribution is serving low-income families well, along with analyzing other state public assistance benefit programs to identify potential barriers to access and provide suggestions on removing any such barriers.

View Anti-Poverty Strategies Report

View Anti-Poverty Strategies Report Executive Summary

Poverty by the Numbers

Today, 537,322 Michigan households fall below the poverty level, but more importantly, the United Way’s ALICE Report shows that 41% or 1.7 million of working Michigan households struggle to afford the necessities like housing, childcare, food, technology, health care and transportation. To afford the basics, single adults need a salary of just over $27,000 and a family of four need over $78,000. The Michigan Poverty Task Force will work to identify and evaluate measures such as these to gain a full understanding of both the scope of poverty’s impact on Michigan families and communities, and the ways state government can best help those families and communities.

1.3M
of Michiganders are living in poverty

18%
of Michigan children in poverty

33%
of families with children are below the ALICE threshold

View ALICE Report & Data

Task Force Report

The Task Force released its second set of policy recommendations to continue the State’s efforts to lift struggling Michiganders out of poverty and improve their health outcomes. The 2022 recommendations focused on five key areas:

Income and social protection
Housing, basic amenities and the environment
Early childhood development
Social inclusion and nondiscrimination
Access to affordable health services of decent quality

Download 2022 Report

Download 2021 Report

Task Force Members

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2019-19 to create the Michigan Poverty Task Force within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). The task force will be comprised of directors, or their designees, from a number of state departments and agencies and will be charged with making recommendations to the governor on how to best coordinate and activate efforts within state government to lift Michigan families out of poverty and help them on a path to opportunity. The Task Force will connect and collaborate with the public and key stakeholders in carrying out this important work.