PORTLAND, Maine — The Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual Kids Count report says the number of Maine children living in poverty grew from 42,000 in 2008 to 45,000 in 2013.
The report says Maine's child poverty rate of 18 percent in 2013 was higher than before the recession, when it was 16 percent.
Maine Children's Alliance produces the state-level Maine Kids Count set of reports. Alliance executive director Claire Berkowitz says the findings illustrate that the state's economy is "not working for all of our children."
The state showed improvement in several categories that measure education. The percentage of three- and four-year-olds enrolled in preschool climbed to 42 percent for the period from 2011 to 2013. The percentage had been 39 percent for the period from 2007 to 2009.