Augusta, Maine (Thursday, September 20, 2012) Nearly 1 in 4 Maine children under age 5 (24.3%) lives in poverty according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey released today. The ACS (ACS) also found that 18.8% of Maine kids under 18 live in poverty.
“Poor families and poor kids did not crash the economy, but they have suffered the most during the Great Recession,” said Garrett Martin, Executive Director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP). “The deep cuts Maine lawmakers have made to health care, childcare, and other key services have most hurt these families. When government slashes spending, it not only shortchanges the safety net for the most vulnerable, but also takes money out of our economy and reduces our ability to make critical investments needed to create jobs and grow our economy.”
To view the ACS data for Maine, click here.
