According to a new Kids Count report, one in four Georgia children lives in poverty. That’s up 81 percent in the last decade.

The rate is the highest in 40 years. Several Atlanta counties as well Bibb, Chatham, Clarke and Muscogee have neighborhoods where more than 70 percent of the kids live in poverty.

Travis Blackwell is with the Bibb Family Connection, a group working on solutions. He says recently they’ve shifted to a so-called place-based strategy going into six of Macon’s poorest neighborhoods with help rather than handouts.

“Financial management programs, a computer lab for adult education, renovating the community center there and installing a playground. There’s a lot that’s kind of created a center within a neighborhood."

Blackwell says working within specific neighborhoods will also help them track progress and measure results.

Tags: Georgia, Kids Count, Georgia poverty, Josephine Bennett, Georgia Family Partnership, Bibb Family Connection, child poverty