Number of Kids Living in Poverty in Georgia Nearly 570,000

The number of kids living in poverty in Georgia is nearly 570,000 and that's not just black kids. The state continues to lag the country for overall child well-being, according to a new study released by The Annie E. Casey Foundation,  in the 2011 Kids Count Data Book, which measures critical indicators of child well-being such as infant mortality rates and the number of children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, the AJC said. Georgia remained 42nd in the nation despite modest improvements.

The state ranked 46th in the country for low-birth-weight babies; 41st for children in single-parent homes and 42nd in infant mortality. Meanwhile, it’s childhood poverty rate jumped by 22 percent between 2000 and 2009. Nationwide, the number of kids in poverty climbed to 20 percent -- essentially erasing the gains made in the 1990s, said Laura Speer, the foundation’s associate director of policy reform and data. Source

So, while politicians are wrangling for their pet causes and fighting one another, children in this country are suffering. The U.S. is fast becoming a Third World country. Shameful.