Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we cover Michigan’s new interactive Public Health Data Dashboard; the Detroit Department of Transportation’s upcoming public hearing on future service changes and more.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michigan’s new public health dashboard

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has launched a public health dashboard.

The Michigan Public Health Data Dashboard provides policymakers with data on public health trends, based on State House and Senate districts. The data is accessible to lawmakers, local officials, and advocacy groups for public health metrics. It includes health outcomes, such as mortality data, blood lead levels, and health behavior trends. It also has social and economic factors, physical environment trends, and clinical care trends such as prenatal care.

The metrics aim to offer a snapshot of how each district is doing in comparison to the statewide average. To check out the dashboard, visit michigan.gov/healthstatistics. 

DDOT to host public hearing

The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) is hosting a public hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 20, to gather feedback from residents about service changes that begin this summer.

Proposed changes — which go into effect June 22 — include route schedule changes along Grand River and Jefferson streets, among other routes. Several of the routes will expand service frequency, adding time slots throughout the day, while others will get shortened. 

The hybrid hearing will take place at the Rosa Parks Transit Center, 1310 Cass Ave., Detroit, and on Zoom.

House GOP to vote on tax rollback 

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall says there will be a floor vote this week on a bill to roll back the state income tax rate. The measure would reduce the rate from 4.25% to 4.05%.

That’s where it was two years ago when high tax revenues triggered a law that reduced the income tax. Republicans argued the cut should have been permanent, but the state attorney general and the Treasury determined it was only good for a year. 

Hall says the bill being voted on this week will ensure that future automatic reductions are permanent. 

“And so what we’re going to do is we’re going to move to reverse the Democrat income tax hike and roll that back to 4.05% where it should be,” he said. “And, as you know, every small business and worker in Michigan pays the income tax and so this is going to really help them with the cost of living right now.”

Democrats say that would reduce revenue. They challenged Republicans to say what budget cuts they would make to pay for the lower income tax. 

–Reporting by Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network.

Severe Weather Awareness Week

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared this week Severe Weather Awareness Week. This comes after a severe weather over the weekend, with storms and tornadoes crossing several states.

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DFIS) encourages Michigan residents to acquire insurance coverage for potentially severe weather conditions. They suggest residents review insurance coverage to check for flood insurance, take inventory of personal belongings, and gather emergency contacts.

They say securing important documents and protecting finances by having an emergency fund is also important. DFIS says people with property damage should report a claim, work to document and prevent further loss, and be wary of fraudulent contractors. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/DFIS.  

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Michigan’s first confirmed case of measles this year was reported by the Oakland County Health Division on Thursday — marking the first case in the state since July 2024.

The infected adult had recently traveled overseas and their vaccination status is unknown, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease that is spread by direct person-to-person contact and through the air.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday its count of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. surpassed 2024, with cases reported in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

“Vaccination remains our best defense against measles and is highly efficient at protecting individuals and preventing outbreaks,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive, in a statement. “This case of measles is a reminder of how easily this highly contagious disease can spread, particularly with international travel.”

Individuals who visited the following locations during these days/times, may have been exposed to measles:

• Kruse & Muer on Main at 327 S. Main Street in Rochester Friday, March 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Henry Ford Rochester Hospital Emergency Department at 1101 W. University Drive in Rochester:
  • Saturday, March 8, from 3:40 a.m. to Sunday, March 9, at 9:32 a.m.
  • Tuesday, March 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Additional sites of possible exposure may be identified as more information becomes available.

Those who believe they could have been exposed to the virus should monitor for symptoms for at least 21 days after their potential exposure date. Individuals born in or before 1957 are considered immune, MDHHS said.

“If symptoms develop, do not visit your doctor or emergency room unless you call ahead so they can take precautions to prevent exposure to other individuals,” said Kate Guzmán, health officer for Oakland County.

Measles symptoms usually begin 7-14 days after exposure, and the virus can live for up to two hours in the air where an infected person coughed or sneezed. Symptoms may include:

• High fever (may spike to over 104°F)
• Cough
• Runny nose
• Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
• Tiny white spots on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of mouth (Koplik Spots) 2-3 days after symptoms begin
• A rash that is red, raised, blotchy; usually starts on face, spreads to trunk, arms and legs 3-5 days after symptoms begin

The MMR vaccine is available through some health care providers, Oakland County Health Division offices in Southfield and Pontiac, and many pharmacies.

–Associated Press Health Writer Devi Shastri contributed to this report.

There are 10,000 kids in Michigan’s foster care system. About half of them are placed with a relative, known as kinship care. 

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recently piloted a program with 16 kinship care support workers, or caseworkers, across nine counties: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Grand Traverse, Lenawee and Ingham. 

MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel says when children are not able to stay with their parents safely, the state prioritizes placing them with a relative. 

“We’ve been able to create some specialized programs and positions to work with family members to make sure that they have all the supports and resources that they need to feel comfortable to take that child in on behalf of their relative,” she said.

Hertel met with kinship caregivers, advisory council members, and support staff this week at the MDHHS South Central Wayne Office in Detroit to discuss the state’s commitment toward children and kinship caregivers.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed a $24.4 million budget to expand a pilot kinship care support program next year. 

The expansion would provide 70 additional kinship care support workers and family resources, Hertel said.

“Outside of just the concrete physical supports, the emotional and behavioral health supports as well,” she said. “So if children are needing therapy sessions or psychiatry, that we work to make sure that we’re connecting services to the family, not just the child, but everyone involved.”

The next step is expanding the pilot statewide. 

“We’ve been really lucky that we’ve had such support from the governor and from the legislature that they believe that this program is effective, and I’m really optimistic that we’ll be able to see an expansion next year,” Hertel said.

The money will also go toward kinship care support resource centers.

According to the MDHHS’s website, kinship care can include biological relatives or family friends caring for children through a placement by MDHHS’s foster care program, or arrangements made outside the welfare system. 

Hertel says the resource centers support all families. 

“We also support kinship care resources so that other families who may not be involved in the system have a place to reach out to,” she said, such as the Kinship Care Resource Center (KCRC) at Michigan State University.

Hertel says these caseworkers are specialized to work with families who take in foster youth who are placed with relatives.  

“In places where we have seen implementing this pilot, we are seeing an increase in some of those areas, in placements with family members,” she said.

Hertel says it’s a priority to place kids in the foster care system with next of kin whenever possible. She says this usually reduces trauma, provides more stability for children, and reduces the time they are in foster care.

The funding is part of a larger proposed $90 million budget going toward helping kids stay safe.