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More Nebraska children living in poverty, according to a new report

By Katie Knapp

Omaha, NE – A new report shows more Nebraska children are living in poverty and are victims of child abuse.

Voices for Children in Nebraska publishes the Kids Count report. One finding in the 2008 edition is that reports of alleged child abuse or neglect in 2007 were the most on record. The report also notes that 14.5% of Nebraska children lived in poverty in 2007. That's almost double the number living in poverty in 2000.

Voices for Children Policy Coordinator Tiffany Seibert says there's often a correlation between child abuse or neglect and high rates of poverty. She says more needs to be done to improve the financial stability of families and reduce the rates of abuse and neglect.

Other findings in the 2008 report include:

-Nebraska's high school graduation rate in 2007 was 89.3%. While the graduation rate was up, so were the number of high school dropouts. That figure increased by 109 students in 2007.

-45,000 Nebraska children were uninsured in 2007.

-487 fewer juveniles were arrested. Voices for children says minority youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice system.

-95% of Nebraska children had at least one parent working outside the home.