"It's just stunning to think of the level of deprivation that represents, and what we know (about)
how living in poverty over an extended period of time does to children," said Jane ZehnderMerrell, Kids Count project director for Michigan at the Michigan League for Public Policy.
Zehnder-Merrell said the negative effects of poverty are exacerbated by steep cuts to social
services that coincided with the recession.
"It's amazing to think what a double whammy this has been. First you have this recession, and
then at the same time you cut social services that used to help people get through the hard times.
(Michigan's) response has been to cut services to families."
The side effects of poverty spill over to other measures of well-being included in the study.
Reports of child abuse and neglect increased 77 percent in Detroit from 2008-12, with about 15
percent of Detroit children living in homes that have been investigated by child protection
workers.
Confirmed neglect or abuse increased 40 percent. The death rate for young people ages 1-19
increased 14 percent between 2004 and 2012, mostly because of increased homicide and suicide
among teenagers.
"(For) a family that is struggling from one day to the next to keep food on the table, to