LANSING – More children are facing abuse and neglect in the state due to unemployment and reduced incomes, with the situation worst in Cheboygan County, according to a social welfare advocacy group.

More than 32,000 children statewide were reported as abused or neglected in 2010 — a 34 percent increase from a decade ago.

Your child may be learning their ABC's around fewer kids if a new bill passes.

"Currently, the law is you have to be 5-years-old by December 1," Stanley Kogut, Ingham Intermediate School district superintendent, said.

Under the new law, your child would need to be 5-years-old by September 1 to start kindergarten. If it passes, the state could get a one-time savings of millions of dollars for the next fiscal year.

LETTER: Investing in Early Childhood Education Pays Off in Long Run
February 1, 2012 | The Morning Sun
On Jan. 24, the “Kids Count” article highlighted how rising poverty, abuse and neglect in Michigan are a threat to our children and their livelihood. I would like to emphasize how important this issue is to our state and local communities.

In the first five years of our lives we learn more quickly than any other time in our lives. When children between the ages of newborn and 5 receive the right things, it allows them to grow and reach their full potential. These years form the foundation that will shape the future of our health, happiness, growth and development, socialization, learning ability and life in general.

Report Shows Increase in Child Abuse, Neglect Over Decade
January 26, 2012| The Ogemaw County Herald
OGEMAW COUNTY — The recently released Kids Count in Michigan report shows that confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in Ogemaw County increased during the past decade.

The Michigan League For Human Services (MLHS) and Michigan’s Children compile the Kids Count report annually. The report ranks counties annually on 16 indicators of child well being, with number one being the best.

Reflecting the prolonged recession in Michigan, almost half of the public school students in the state in 2010 were eligible for free or reduced price lunch, according to the annual Kids Count in Michigan report.

The report, titled "Health Matters," focuses on child health and how social and economic factors play into that.

Kids Count: Growing Poverty Threatens Children's Health - Recent Michigan Policy Decisions Worsen the Impact on Kids
January 24, 2012| River Country Journal
LANSING — Child abuse and neglect in St. Joseph County more than doubled over the past decade and almost 60 percent of St. Joseph K-12 children qualified for free and reduced price lunches, the latest Kids Count in Michigan Data Book concludes.

Michigan’s long economic struggle is reflected in the new Kids Count findings. Children qualify for school-based meals if their family income is 185 percent of poverty or less. Studies confirm that families need income of about 200 percent of poverty – at least $44,226 for a family of four – to cover basic needs without assistance. Poverty also drives up neglect cases.

Child Abuse Cases on Rise
January 24, 2012| The Times Herald
A report released today shows there are nearly twice as many confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect in St. Clair County as there were a decade ago.

The number jumped 97% between 2000 and 2010, from 377 confirmed cases to 673 per year. At the same time, the total population of children aged 0 to 17 fell 12%, according to the 2011 Kids Count report, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Michigan League for Human Services and Michigan's Children.

Kent County Kids Report: One in Five Live in Poverty
January 24, 2012| The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS – One in five Kent County children now lives in poverty and it’s causing a bevy of social problems, according to an annual data compilation. The groups that package the Kids Count in Michigan Data Book 2011 claim the statistics show a need for more public funding of social services, not less.

More than 32,000 children in Kent County live in poverty. Though lower, numbers in Allegan and Ottawa counties are rising and add another 12,000 kids to the local tally.

Groups Not Shy About Offering Gov. Snyder Ideas
January 18, 2012| CNBC
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce wants Gov. Rick Snyder to propose lowering taxes on business equipment and spending more money on roads in his second annual State of the State address, while a coalition of workers' rights groups asks for less help for business, more money for schools and more weeks of unemployment benefits.

As Snyder readies for his Wednesday night address, there's been no shortage of proposals for what needs attention.

State Child Care Cuts Force Hard Choice on Parents
January 3, 2012| ABC News
Sarah Comito rolls out of bed before dawn most days and slips quietly out of her house. Before her rambunctious toddler wakes up, she heads off to work as a waitress in an upscale weight-loss resort in Malibu.

The hour-long commute is exhausting, but the 33-year-old is thankful to make the trip when she remembers where she and her husband were four years ago: living in a tent in a nearby river bottom, strung out on methamphetamine.

Now Comito fears the progress they have made since then could be lost as California cuts her from a vital child care assistance program, more than doubling the cost of her son's day care to $600 a month. On a $10 hourly wage, she said she'd be better off quitting her job and staying home with her son while her husband works as a professional tree cutter. But if she stops working, they can't make rent.

Save Poor Children and Funds with Preventive Care
December 22, 2011| Detroit Free Press

Kudos to Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley for her passion and commitment to improving the lives of the next generation of Michiganders, our children. I thank her for her Dec. 16 column ("Missing issue from GOP debates: Children"), but I fear she misunderstood my comments about the Medicaid program that provides health insurance for tens of thousands of poor children in Michigan.