Invest in Tomorrow

Maine has a child poverty problem. Today nearly one in seven Maine children is growing up poor with an average household income of less than $12,000 a year. One out of every five kids are food insecure, living in families that worry whether they will have enough to eat. Some Mainers are more likely to be impacted by poverty, including rural Mainers, female-headed single-parent households, and children of color.

Child poverty has serious, long-term consequences for children and communities.  Children who grow up in poverty are less likely to succeed in school, less likely to graduate high school, and more likely to be out of the workforce as adults. The experience of childhood poverty has profound long-term effects on health, earnings, and even mortality.

Invest in Tomorrow is an initiative undertaken by Maine organizations, businesses, and individuals to cut Maine’s child poverty rate in half over the next ten years as a bold step toward eradicating child poverty in a generation.

In 2020, Invest in Tomorrow will turn its attention to additional priority areas identified through our community forums, including streamlining, simplifying, and improving the delivery of state anti-poverty and workforce development supports and services for families struggling to meet their basic needs and sustain employment Each year, the data scorecard will be published at www.investintomorrow.me.