Child abuse, poverty are rising, report says
January 12, 2010 |16:33 | News By : Team X
In some Michigan counties, more than one in three of the most vulnerable residents -- children -- live in poverty, and confirmed cases of their neglect and abuse continue to rise, according to the annual Kids Count report.
Even more alarming is that the situation is likely far worse than the report suggests. That's because the annual look at the well-being of Michigan's youths is limited to data that is at least a year old. Continued budget cuts to social services may show up in data in the coming years, said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, study director and researcher at the Michigan League for Human Services.
Consider the drop in teen birth rates, which Zehnder-Merrill credited to public awareness programs, better health care and even students staying in a classroom or finding jobs and other after-school activities rather than hitting the streets.
"Going forward, this is not going to be good news when ... you're slashing all of those programs that give these kids a fighting chance." The report, to be released today, is a county-by-county comparison of 15 bench marks of child well-being. State-by-state comparisons are released in the summer.
Not surprisingly, well-being varied from county to county. While the biggest jump in poverty showed up in the rural areas, babies in urban counties were more likely to be born underweight. Despite the not-so-surprising statistics related to poverty and economic stress, there was good news, too: Teen deaths dropped in Michigan, as did births to young parents, Zehnder-Merrell pointed out.
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