Across Michigan, more children were taken away from their homes last year because of abuse or neglect than eight years ago. And fewer children were taken away because they were delinquent.

But while those trends prove true in nearly every one of the state's 83 counties, one in metro Detroit is bucking it: Wayne County.

According to information released today by Kids Count in Michigan, an annual data book that features profiles of child well-being across the state, Wayne County -- and Detroit, which is analyzed separately -- saw slight decreases in the number of children taken out of their homes because of abuse or neglect, dropping from about 13 to 11 per 1,000 for the county and from about six to nearly five per 1,000 for Detroit.

Statewide, the number of kids taken from homes because of delinquent behavior dropped 43% between 1997 and 2005. That statistic wasn't reflected in Macomb and Oakland counties -- which stayed about the same in the eight-year span. By contrast, Wayne County's number was cut in half: Two of every 1,000 kids were taken out of their homes and placed in either foster care or with relatives because of bad behavior in 2005, compared with four in 1997.

And in Detroit, the rate dropped from about five per 1,000 kids to just under three.

Kathryne O'Grady, director of policy resource development of the Wayne County Department of Children and Family Services, said there's a reason for this shift in numbers: Wayne County's Family-to-Family program run by the state's Department of Human Services.

The pilot program is being rolled out slowly across the state; three Detroit ZIP codes first tested it in 2001. It was countywide by 2005.

Family to Family focuses on intervening when a child is flagged for possibly being removed from his or her home for abuse or neglect.

"They draw everyone to the table as quickly as possible," O'Grady said. "They provide support, bring in the parents, bring in ministers, anyone the child has contact with, and come up with a workable plan that can prevent removing the child."

But the statistic surprised Judi Bradley-Parsons, 48, of Wayne County who has adopted 10 foster children. In about 30 years as a foster parent, all but one of the children she has taken in was abused or neglected.

The exception, she said, was a 14-year-old girl -- now 37 -- who was taken from her biological parents' home for behavioral problems.

"My most recent children were taken at birth because their mother was a drug user," she said. "I know things have gotten worse out there."

She said she hopes the Kids Count statistics in Wayne County are true -- but she's skeptical.

"I'm surprised and I'm thinking they're missing things," she said, "or maybe they're not removing the kid and they should. "I would like to think that it's dropped, but I don't think so."

Wayne County still ranks well above the state rate of about seven children per 1,000 being removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.

The bulk of the Kids Count study was bleak:

• Statewide, nearly two out of five children lived at or near the
  poverty level in 2005.
• The number of children receiving food stamps nearly doubled
  between 2000 and 2005.
• About 11 children per 1,000 were victims of maltreatment --
  compared with about eight children per 1,000 in 1997.
• Slightly more than 30% of Michigan's children were insured
  by Medicaid in 2005, compared with about 20% in 1999.

Michigan's staggering economy bears much of the blame, said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, senior research associate for the Michigan League for Human Services, which released the survey.

"Physical neglect makes up the largest share" of kids removed from homes who fall under the "abused or neglected" category, Zehnder-Merrell said Monday. "And the terrible truth is that poverty is playing a big role.

"Parents are overwhelmed. They turn to substance abuse or don't do a very good job of parenting. They just sort of give up."

Nearly 14% of the state's children lived in poverty in 2003, the most recent data available, according to the Kids Count study. Macomb and Oakland counties are lower than the state average, at 8.5% and 7.3%, respectively.

Wayne County ranks significantly higher at 21.2%, though that represents a drop from 25.9% in 1997.

Debbie Kline, executive director of the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support based in Ohio, agreed that poverty can lead to abuse and neglect, but she said the Kids Count statistics don't take into account parents -- usually single mothers -- who sometimes give their children to their parents to ensure their kids can eat.

"There is no reporting column for that," she said. "If it came down to my child eating and my child going hungry, I'd give my child to my parents."

The fact that more children get food stamps and are insured by Medicaid "illustrates the point that we're living in the times of the working poor," she added.

The Kids Count in Michigan Data Book 2006 is available online at www.milhs.org. Contact AMBER HUNT at 313-222-2708 or .

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