The 25th annual Kids Count report released Tuesday shows Maine kids are healthier, going to school earlier and more are graduating high school on time, but increasingly home life is a struggle.

The figures, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, show one-third of children live with parents who want to work full time but can’t find the jobs, up from 29 percent in 2008.

At the same time, 87 percent of kids graduated from high school on time compared to 74 percent in 2006 and 44 percent attended preschool compared to 40 percent a few years ago.

The foundation ranked Maine 14th overall among the states.

“I think there’s some good news to tell in the education domain,” said Claire Berkowitz, executive director of the Maine Children’s Alliance, which works with Annie E. Casey on the report.

In educational measures, Maine improved from 20th to 14th in the U.S. in the last year.

In economic well-being measures, it dropped from 20th to 29th.

“Our kids continue to get poor, parents lack secure employment,” Berkowitz said. “The economy isn’t working for kids.”

Among the 16 indicators the foundation tracks:

* 21 percent of children have family incomes below the poverty line compared to 13 percent in 1990.

* 95 percent of children have health insurance now compared to 90 percent in 1990.

* Child and teen deaths, teen pregnancies and the rate of teens who report abusing drugs or alcohol are all down since 2005.

Berkowitz said the report will go to Maine’s congressional delegation, Gov. Paul LePage, commissioners and other officials in the state.

“We’re hoping they’ll take notice,” she said. “What can we do to help working families in terms of providing quality child care and resources to families who maybe can’t afford quality child care? Those kinds of things I’d love to hear people talk about.”

kskelton@sunjournal.com

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