A new survey shows that child poverty in the United States increased in 38 states in the last decade, as the economy fell into recession.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual survey says 20 percent of all children in the U.S. were poor in 2009, up from 17 percent in 2000. It says the number of poor children rose by 2.5 million during the period to 14.7 million.

The southern state of Mississippi retained its last place ranking, with neighboring states Louisiana and Alabama close behind. In the northeast, New Hampshire topped the list for having the best child welfare, followed by Minnesota and Massachusetts.

The authors say the recent recession effectively wiped out all of the gains in cutting child poverty the U.S. made in the late 1990s. They say many experts predict that child poverty will continue to increase in the next several years.

The survey ranks states based on 10 key indicators, such as the number of infant mortalities, teen births, children in single-parent families and undernourished infants.

The charitable organization bases its report on data from many sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Delinquency Survey and the Mortgage Bankers' Association.