In March, the Maine Children’s Alliance released the Maine KIDS COUNT Data Book, which provided a snapshot of how well we’re doing — or not — in helping our kids get a solid start in life.
Far and away, the 2010 Maine KIDS COUNT book identified childhood poverty as the overriding issue requiring immediate attention. It reported that almost 22 percent of Maine children under age 5 and 16.5 percent of children under age 18 are living in poverty in Maine.
As has been the case in previous reports, there’s great disparity in the percentage of childhood poverty across Maine’s 16 counties — with Washington County having the highest rate at 28.7 percent and York the lowest at 11.8 percent (followed by Cumberland at 12.5 percent and Sagadahoc at 14.6 percent as counties with the best percentages).
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which funded Maine’s report as part of its state-by-state effort, has now released its national KIDS COUNT Data Book.
What the national report shows, unfortunately, is that Maine has lost ground since the previous year’s survey. We’ve dropping two slots to 14th place overall. Even more telling is that we’ve dropped from fifth place overall in 2000.
So we now have a national snapshot that puts the earlier statewide findings into a broader perspective —and obviously the trends are not moving in the direction we want to be seeing.
The national KIDS COUNT report ranks the 50 states in 10 categories of children’s health, education and economic security. Its authors issue an important caveat: The findings don’t reflect the current economic recession because they’re based on data collected between 2000 and 2008.
So it’s fair to assume in most states the number of children impacted by poverty are likely to be even higher.
Maine’s lowest national ranking is in the category of “percent of children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, 2008”: We rank 33rd nationally, with 29 percent.
That finding, alone, underscores how critical it is to improve our state economy. If neither parent can count on full time year-round employment, it’s a virtual certainty the family is lacking health insurance and money for basic necessities that a stable job provides.
Perhaps the most distressing finding of the 2010 national KIDS COUNT report is that between 2000 and 2008, child poverty increased in 32 states, decreased in 13 states and the District of Columbia and remained unchanged in five states. Maine’s 16.5 percent rate of children living in poverty puts it slightly below the national rate of 18 percent, and about midway among the states with a rank of 23rd.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation expects the child poverty rate will climb above 20 percent when the U.S. Census Bureau release more current data later this year. The fact that we’ve had a decade in which the child poverty rate is increasing — in stark contrast to the period between 1994 and 2000, when it fell by 30 percent — is perhaps one of the strongest indicators that our nation’s economic priorities must change.
As the 2010 national KIDS COUNT concludes on its summary page, “Our future success as a nation depends on the degree to which we ensure that all of our children have the opportunity to thrive.”
Politicians should heed that essential message, making it the touchstone for policies enacted in Washington and Augusta.
