Growing up in poverty
can dramatically impact a child’s life. Child poverty can adversely affect children across all developmental domains, beginning in early childhood and lasting into adulthood. Living in poverty also increases a child’s risk for poor health, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational outcomes. Adults who grew up in poverty are likely to earn less, struggle to maintain steady, stable employment, and engage in crime. This is especially true for adults who spent long periods of their childhood in poverty, or periods of their childhood in deep poverty. Therefore, it is critical to the health and well-being of Maine’s children and
to our shared future success, that we work to eradicate child poverty in our state. What the data shows
The poverty rate in 2018 in the United States for children ages 0-17 is 18.0%, down from 18.4% in the previous year ( based on U.S. Census SAIPE 1 year data
). The poverty rate for children in Maine in 2018 is 14.8%
, a steep decline from 2012 when it was 19.8% and from 2016 when it was 16.7%, but up slightly from 2017 when it was 14.2%. The difference in child poverty rates in Maine from 2017 to 2018 is not statistically significant.
The 2017 child poverty rate in Maine was the lowest percent and number since 2005, representing the largest state decline in the country. In one year, nearly 6,400 Maine children were lifted out of poverty, due in part to the minimum wage increase. However, just as in 2017, Maine's child poverty rate in 2018 is still higher than all the other New England states except Rhode Island.
In terms of Maine counties, in 2018 both Cumberland and York Counties had the lowest poverty rates in the state, below 11%. The county with next lowest percentage of children in poverty was Sagadahoc at 13%. None of the other 13 counties had rates below the state average
rate of 14.8%. In 2018, six counties had child poverty rates above 20%: Washington County at 26.8%, Oxford at 26.3%, Piscataquis at 23.8%, Somerset at 21.1%, Franklin at 20.4% and Waldo at 20.2%. See all county data here.
Despite the promising recent reductions in the number of children living in poverty in our state, in 2018, there were still an estimated
36,000 children growing up in the difficult conditions of poverty. And while overall gains have been made in the state, significant disparities persist in the counties in Maine that are being most hard-hit by poverty.
What we can do
Congress recently asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
to conduct a comprehensive study of child poverty in the U.S., and to identify evidence-based programs and policies for reducing the number of children living in poverty by half within 10 years. The National Academies appointed a committee with expertise in economics, psychology, cognitive science, public policy, education, sociology, and pediatrics to conduct the study and issue a report. The committee’s report
identifies four packages of policies and programs that emphasize both poverty reduction and work incentives that could substantially reduce child poverty in the U.S. For Maine, the package (#3) likely to have the greatest impact on child poverty includes:
In terms of Maine counties, in 2018 both Cumberland and York Counties had the lowest poverty rates in the state, below 11%. The county with next lowest percentage of children in poverty was Sagadahoc at 13%. None of the other 13 counties had rates below the state average
rate of 14.8%. In 2018, six counties had child poverty rates above 20%: Washington County at 26.8%, Oxford at 26.3%, Piscataquis at 23.8%, Somerset at 21.1%, Franklin at 20.4% and Waldo at 20.2%. See all county data here.
Despite the promising recent reductions in the number of children living in poverty in our state, in 2018, there were still an estimated
36,000 children growing up in the difficult conditions of poverty. And while overall gains have been made in the state, significant disparities persist in the counties in Maine that are being most hard-hit by poverty. What we can do
Congress recently asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
to conduct a comprehensive study of child poverty in the U.S., and to identify evidence-based programs and policies for reducing the number of children living in poverty by half within 10 years. The National Academies appointed a committee with expertise in economics, psychology, cognitive science, public policy, education, sociology, and pediatrics to conduct the study and issue a report. The committee’s report
identifies four packages of policies and programs that emphasize both poverty reduction and work incentives that could substantially reduce child poverty in the U.S. For Maine, the package (#3) likely to have the greatest impact on child poverty includes: - Increasing payments along the phase-in and flat portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) schedule
- Converting the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) to a fully refundable tax credit and concentrate its benefits on families with the lowest incomes and with children under the age of five
- Increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 35 percent as well as increasing benefits for older children
- Increasing the number of housing vouchers directed to families with children so that 70 percent of eligible families that are not currently receiving subsidized housing would use them