ST. PAUL — A new report on child welfare that found more U.S. children living in poverty than before the Great Recession belies the fanfare of the nation’s economic turnaround.

Twenty-two percent of American children were living in poverty in 2013 compared with 18 percent in 2008, according to the latest Kids Count Data Book, with poverty rates nearly double among African-Americans and American Indians and problems most severe in South and Southwest.

The report, released Tuesday from the child advocacy group the Annie E. Casey Foundation, showed some signs of slight improvement, including high school graduation rates at an all-time high and a falling percentage of uninsured children. But the bright spots weren’t enough to offset a picture that many children have been left behind amid the nation’s economic recovery.

Here are some things to know about the report:

The foundation’s studies cover 16 different measures, delving into economic well-being, health care, education and family and community issues.

The problems extend beyond — and in some cases drive — increasing poverty rates. More children were raised in single-parent homes in 2013 than in 2008, and fewer lived with parents with secure employment.

Foundation President Patrick McCarthy said that particularly troubling is an increase in the share of kids living in poor communities, regardless of their own families’ economic standing. The report says 1 in 7 children live in those areas, marked by poor schools and a lack of a safe place to play.

“They’re more likely to fall down the economic ladder, less likely to be employed and more likely to get in trouble,” McCarthy said.