"Kid Nation" (File Photo)

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BEIJING, Aug. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- CBS television's hopes that "Kid Nation" will be the next big reality hit may be dashed before the program makes its scheduled Sept. 19 debut after the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) announced Friday it was investigating reports of alleged child abuse.

The proclamation comes after intense scrutiny of a show that features 40 children, ages 8 to 15, who were plunked down in the New Mexico desert without their parents to build a society and town.

The mother of a 12-year-old Georgia girl who was burned in the face with grease while cooking filed a complaint accusing the production of abuse and neglect. Her accusation prompted the New Mexico attorney general to launch an investigation into whether CBS and Good TV Inc. violated labor laws during the April and May filming of the show.

CBS issued a statement last week in support of its show and production.

"We stand by the procedures we had in place and the response to all the minor injuries," the statement said. "We will therefore not accept irresponsible allegations or any attempts to misrepresent and exaggerate events or spread false claims about what happened."

AFTRA covers the host and announcer of "Kid Nation," but the organization is now reviewing the contract between the children and the production. Show creator Tom Forman said all of the children would receive a 5,000 U.S. dollar "stipend" for "participating" in the program, and some of the children won 20,000 dollar prizes. The stipend does not constitute a "wage," say CBS lawyers, because the children were not paid for specific work or tasks.

"We're looking to see exactly what agreements there were between the children and the production and the exact nature of the performance," said AFTRA spokesman John Hinrichs. "We need to more fully determine whether they are amateur contestants that are exempt from the terms of the agreement."

In a press release, AFTRA National Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth said that AFTRA would take "all legal and moral steps available to protect the rights of the performers and children on this program."

(Agencies)