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Report: More Michigan Kids Living In Poverty

(Lansing-WWJ)  A new report documents how the long economic slump has pushed more Michigan children into poverty.

According to the organization Kids Count in Michigan, the poverty rate among children under 18 went from 14 percent in 2000 to 23 percent in 2009.

The percentage of children receiving food stamps or similar assistance increased from ten to 28 percent over the same period. Roughly one in five children in Michigan live in poverty. The rate among African American children is one in every two, and it is one in three among Hispanic children.

Additionally, the state experienced a sharp rise of 25 percent in the rate of confirmed victims of abuse or neglect between 2000 and 2009.

Kids Count director Jane Zehnder-Merrell says "Unfortunately the data show that support systems are strained and overloaded--we're not keeping up with the needs of kids."

(Copyright 2011 WWJ Newsradio 950.  All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press Contributed To This Report)

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