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Contact:
Alex Rossman
arossman@mlpp.org
517.487.5436

Series of policy analyses will look at Flint water crisis, unsafe conditions in Detroit Public Schools and systemic problems with state government

LANSING — The Michigan League for Public Policy released an overview of the Flint water crisis today entitled “A Blueprint for Disaster: Flint’s Crisis, State Government’s Challenges and the Policy Solutions to Both.” It is the first in a series of fact sheets the League will produce analyzing “Cities in Crisis” in Michigan.

“Like most people in Michigan right now, our hearts and minds are focused on the water crisis in Flint and what needs to happen now and in the future to address it,” said Gilda Z. Jacobs, president & CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. “But as we began to look at the situation in Flint, we saw a pattern in state policies that began before the Flint water switch and have set up lots of communities for disaster. With ‘Cities in Crisis,’ the League will be taking a closer look at the specific needs of Flint and Detroit schools as well as broader issues their struggles have exposed in state government.”

The League’s fact sheet on Flint connects the water crisis to bigger government failures in Michigan than just the water system change, including the shift of what the role of government should be, the failure of the business-model approach and the ongoing disinvestment in infrastructure in the state. “A Blueprint for Disaster” also offers immediate and ongoing recommendations for policy changes to better serve all Michigan residents, regardless of their income, their zip code or the color of their skin.

The League will release a new fact sheet every week or so that can be followed on the League’s Cities in Crisis webpage. This page also includes information on the League’s communications, advocacy and policy work on the Flint water crisis. Upcoming fact sheets will be analyzing the statewide disinvestment in infrastructure, negative effects of lead poisoning, social determinants of health, unsafe conditions in Detroit Public Schools and other pressing issues facing Michigan communities.

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The Michigan League for Public Policy, www.mlpp.org, is a nonprofit policy institute focused on economic opportunity for all. It is the only state-level organization that addresses poverty in a comprehensive way.

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