Dear Friends:

It is a difficult time for so many people, young and old, here in Maine and across our great country. The difficult economy presents challenges for all of us. Now, more than ever, is a critical time to demonstrate support for our children, because they truly are in harm’s way, and are the future for all of us.

The numbers are alarming: 17% percent of children in Maine live in poverty, infant mortality rates have increased 29% from 2002-2007, and 31% of children live in homes where no parent has a year round, full time job. (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2011 Kids Count Data Book)

Our job at the Maine Children’s Alliance is to speak up for kids in Maine, and to advocate for sound public policies on their behalf. We focus on many issues, including health, education, economic security, and child safety. We produce the most respected and comprehensive research on children’s issues in the state, and our reports are critical in educating policy makers in Augusta and Washington.

Despite our challenges, we have made progress as a state. The death rate for children and teens is down, the teen birth rate is down, and the percent of teens that are not in school and not high school graduates is also down (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2011 Kids Count Data Book). There is so much more to do, always, and we need your help to meet the challenge for our children. Currently, Head Start, child care supports, immunization, and health care are on the chopping block at the State House in Augusta, and we are fighting back. Federal deficit reductions are critical to our future, and we are working to make sure our Congressional delegation supports a balanced approach that does not harm children. The magnitude of the challenges is huge, and our need is great.

Please donate to the Maine Children’s Alliance this season, as we continue our work on behalf of children in Maine. We will keep you updated on our efforts, and offer opportunities to take action to help kids. A donation of $100, $200, $500 or more would be greatly appreciated, as would any amount you may be able to spare. You can also join us as well as donate on-line and on Face book and Twitter by going to www.mekids.org! Thank you for your consideration and best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

G. Dean Crocker

President/CEO

AUGUSTA–Head Start promotes school readiness for children in low-income families by offering educational, nutritional,health, social and other services. Programs actively engage parents in their children’s learning and help them in making progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals.

Judy Reidt-Parker discusses the findings released today in the 2011 Head Start Report.

This important program is currently threatened in the Governor’s proposed budget. “The proposal to eliminate state funding for Head Start in the Governor’s budget heads our state in the wrong direction,” said Judy Reidt-Parker, Early Childhood Policy Analyst at the Maine Children’s Alliance. “These cuts would result in Maine families having even less opportunity to build financial independence through employment or education. The old adage ‘pennywise but a pound foolish’ definitely applies when cutting early childhood programs.”

John Shoos of the United Way of Greater Portland speaks about the importance of Head Start in the community.

John Shoos of the United Way of Greater Portland highlighted the importance of the program to the community, saying “Head Start in Maine supports the current workforce by providing full day/full year services for low-income working parents, and supports the healthy growth and development of Maine’s future workforce.”

Scientific evidence and economic analysis have demonstrated that providing a child with a safe, healthy and nurturing early childhood experience results in significant positive outcomes later in that child’s life. When families are healthy, children do better in school, workers are more productive, and business can add jobs because their health costs are lower.

Head Start programs receive most of their funding directly from federal grants. Since 1983, Head Start programs have provided additional state funded services. In 1999, Head Start was included in the Fund for a Healthy Maine (FHM) allocation. Both of these state funding resources would be eliminated under the Governor’s proposed budget.

Angela, a Head Start parent, shares how vital the program has been to her family.

According to Kathy Colfer, Chair of the Maine Head Start Directors, “Both these streams of state funding are essential in order to maintain the current number of Head Start slots in Maine. A reduction in state funding would result in a significant loss of service to Maine families.”

Currently Maine has the capacity to serve only 29% of Head Start eligible children.

To access the report online, please click here.

For a print copy, call 623-1868, ext. 202.

For more information contact:

Judy Reidt-Parker, MCA Early Childhood Specialist
jreidtparker@mekids.org

(207) 623-1868 x.210

(207) 215-9556

Kathy Colfer, KVCAP Child & Family Services Director
kathyc@kvcap.org

(207) 859-1618

The “207″ interview with MCA’s Early Childhood Policy Analyst, Judy Reidt-Parker, is now available on the WCSH Ch 6 web site. You can watch Judy talk about the value of Head Start programs in Maine.

Kids Count Factoid: Percent of children in single-parent families–Much of the public interest in family structure is linked to the fact that children growing up in single-parent families typically do not have the same economic or human resources available as those growing up in two-parent families. About 83,836 Maine children (33%) lived in single-parent families in 2009. This represents a 38 percent increase from 2000, when 24 percent of Maine children lived in single-parent families. http://datacenter.kidscount.org/Databook/2011/OnlineBooks/ForMedia/StateProfiles/KCDB2011_profiles_ME_FINAL-rev.pdf

Maine Children’s Alliance to Present Giraffe Awards at Annual Event

The Maine Children’s Alliance (MCA) celebrates those who “stick their necks out for kids” by presenting Giraffe Awards at its 17^th annual Champions for Children event on November 10, 2011, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport. The statewide children’s advocacy organization’s annual meeting will also be held during the event, which runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. A new feature of this year’s Champions for Children is greater youth involvement in the event, including youth emcee, musical entertainment, and technical support.

Maine Senate President Kevin L. Raye will serve as keynote speaker for the awards ceremony. Senator Raye is serving his fourth term representing Washington County and eastern areas of Hancock and Penobscot Counties.

MCA President/CEO Dean Crocker will present the President’s Award to Christopher “Kit” St. John, who has just retired from his position as executive director of Maine Center for Economic Policy.

“We are grateful to Kit for being such an effective champion for Maine’s families over his long career,” says Crocker. “He is highly respected in Maine and on a national level for his expertise on a range of economic issues.”

Two winners will be honored with Giraffe Awards for their individual accomplishments. One is Marjorie Withers, director and co-founder of the Community Caring Collaborative, a network of tribal, state and community agencies and members creating a holistic system of care for infants, young children and their families who are at risk.

The other award winner in the “individual” category is Estelle Rubinstein, Executive Director for Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care. She began at Head Start as a volunteer in 1969 and has since has represented her agency and the child care cause by advocating for low-income children and families throughout the community.

This year’s winner in the “advocate” category is William Bradford III. Bradford was in the foster care system from age 4 to 18, and now travels as a motivational speaker and works on behalf of kids in the foster care system. He also started Bids4Care, a website dedicated to raising funds for foster youth in transition.

The “organization” Giraffe Award goes to Ruth Libby, CEO & Founder of Ruth’s Reusable Resources (3R’s). Ruth started 3R’s in 1994 with the concept of taking unwanted items from businesses and individuals and making them available for teachers to use in their classrooms. In 18 years, Ruth’s Reusable Resources has given away more than $37 million worth of supplies to Maine schools and non-profits.

Two winners will be honored in the “youth” category. One is Joshua Calcia, an active member of the York County Foster Care Collaborative and of the Youth Leadership Advisory Team. Through both organizations, Calcia helps educate the community about the challenges of youth in foster care, and he mentors young people in the foster care system.

The other youth winner is Cheyenna Spelman, whose has risen above a difficult past—including years of abuse—to become a youth leader in speaking to state decision makers about her experiences and advocating on behalf of young people. She has been a member of Youth MOVE in Lewiston for five years.

The Champions for Children event will also include recognition of Maine Children’s Alliance outgoing board leaders Jack Rosser and Jane Gilbert. Rosser is retiring from his longtime position as Chair of the Board with MCA. Rosser currently serves in multiple capacities with The Spurwink Institute; his career has also included serving as a teacher, coach and administrator in Pennsylvania, and an administrator and education leader in New Jersey, as well as Commissioner of Maine Department of Mental Health and Corrections.

Jane Gilbert is retiring as Vice President of the MCA Board. In addition to a long career serving Maine state government, she has been active in labor mediation, civil rights, economic equity and welfare reform. She retired in 2008 as Deputy Commissioner of the Maine Department of Labor, where she oversaw personnel issues and public policy for the agency.

Also participating in this year’s Champions for Children ceremony is Representative Anne Haskell of Portland. Rep. Haskell is serving her sixth term in the Maine State Legislature, and is the House Democratic Lead on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. She has advocated for children throughout her career.

Champions for Children also features a silent auction to raise funds in support of MCA’s mission to improve the lives of children, youth and families in Maine.

There’s still time to make a reservation to attend the Champions for Children event. Call (207) 623-1868, ext. 201, email Bonnie Colfer or visit the online reservations page .

Children living in families where no parent has full-time, year round employment have higher poverty rates and are more likely to lack access to health and family benefits that a stable job provides. In 2009 Maine ranked 25th in the nation on this indicator, with 85,025 (31%) of Maine’s children living with no parent employed full-time, year-round.

Check back for more KIDS COUNT data about the well-being of Maine’s children, or visit the Kids Count Data Center for comprehensive information on how Maine is doing compared with other states.

This new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finds a greater prevalence of physical, emotion, behavioral and development conditions among kids in rural areas. Clearly the findings have relevance here in Maine. Here is the press release from the Health Resources and Services Administration:

HRSA NEWS ROOM
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 24, 2011

CONTACT: HRSA PRESS OFFICE
301-443-3376

New report finds children in rural areas face different health challenges

Children in rural areas are more likely to face different challenges to their health and have less access to care when compared with children in urban areas, according to a new report from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH):  The Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: A Portrait of the Nation in 2007, which is published every four years, examined the overall health of rural children in the United States from birth to 17 years. The report finds greater prevalence of certain physical, emotional, behavioral and developmental conditions in rural areas.

Based on a national survey of parents, the report presents information on children’s health status, and their access to and use of health care services as measured through their parents’ reports.  It considers children’s body mass index, social skills and behaviors and the presence of one or more chronic conditions.  Aspects of the environment that were assessed in the survey include family structure, poverty level, parental health and well-being and community surroundings.

“ This national survey demonstrates how children in rural areas face particular health risks,” said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D, R.N.”  “Using the information provided by parents about their children will give public health officials a more complete picture for how to improve these children’s health outcomes. HRSA’s programs in rural health policy, maternal and child health and across the agency will look to these findings to inform our work going forward.”

Findings include:

• Children living in rural areas are more likely to have public insurance, such as Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, while urban children are more likely to be privately insured.
• The percentage of children with chronic conditions such as obesity, asthma and diabetes is highest amongst teenagers living in small rural areas.

The National Survey of Children’s Health is sponsored by HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Technical appendices at the end of the book present information about the survey methodology and sample. To see more in-depth information about the book and its findings, visit mchb.hrsa.gov/nsch/07rural.

###

The Health Resources and Services Administration is part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA is the primary federal agency responsible for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.

Percent of teens not attending school and not working:

Teens who leave school and do not become part of the workforce are at risk for experiencing negative outcomes as they transition to adulthood. In 2009, 5,403 Maine young people ages 16 to 19 (7%) were not engaged in school or the workforce.

Find more on this and other KIDS COUNT data that relates to Maine kids at the Kids Count Data Center.

Check back frequently here at Maine Kids VOICE for more Kids Count data highlights and other information.

Meeting With Maine’s Congressional Delegation

In recent months, Maine Children’s Alliance representatives have had face to face meetings with all of our Congressional delegation –Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressman Mike Michaud–here in Maine and in Washington, D.C. We had an opportunity to discuss the impact that budget and deficit reduction policy decisions will have on children living in poverty.

Click here to view MCA’s message to federal lawmakers. The letter reflects the priorities of the New England Consortium, a six-state collaborative of child research and policy organizations including Maine.  The Consortium has developed a common set of priorities to reduce child and family poverty in our individual states and region, and act as a catalyst for national change at this time of increasing poverty.

The Maine Children’s Alliance is seeking new photographs of Maine children to use in our publications and products, such as the Maine KIDS COUNT data book. KIDS COUNT documents the condition of children in Maine over time, and photos of children–from infants to teens–are used to help illustrate the publication. Similarly, we showcase photos of Maine children on our website and in other publications.

We prefer to use photos that friends of MCA send us, showing Maine kids in settings representative of our state. For this reason, we solicit photos each year to update our collection.

If you have photos that you would like to send for us to consider including in our MCA products, please note the following instructions:

• Deadline for photo submissions to be considered for 2012 Maine KIDS COUNT Data Book: Friday, January 13, 2012. Photos received throughout the year will be considered for other products and publications.
• Photos must be submitted electronically; we no longer accept any photo prints. Please email photos to: mainekids@mekids.org.
• Photos must be jpeg, tiff or pdf image files at least 300 dpi (no gif files).
• The following information must be provided in the email:

• • Photographer’s name
  • Mailing address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • Number of photos submitted
  • Identifying information for each photo (subject name, age, date taken)

• Photo files should be named with identifying information in file name
• General photo preferences: high-quality images featuring Maine children; a variety of ages; single or group shots; diversity is encouraged; adult caretakers in photos are welcome; backgrounds that showcase Maine are also desirable.
• Please note that we receive a large volume of photographs and cannot publish all of them
• When submitting photos, you must grant Maine Children’s Alliance permission to use the photos. You may do so by: including the following Photo Release information in your email, submitting our online Photo Release Form, or printing the information and faxing or mailing it to MCA.

The Maine Children’s Alliance Photo Release Form MUST be signed or photos cannot be used.

Please click here for the online Photo Release Form. http://www.formstack.com/forms/?1123849-lsaNcIRpvi The form must be signed by the subject(s) of the photograph, or, if the subject is a minor, by a parent or guardian.

If you cannot access the form, please print the following information and fax it to (207) 626-3302 OR mail it to the Maine Children’s Alliance at: Maine Children’s Alliance 303 State St., Augusta ME 04330

Maine Children’s Alliance Photo Release Form:

I, the undersigned, do hereby grant permission to the Maine Children’s Alliance/Maine KIDS COUNT Project to publish the attached photograph of me and/or my minor child. It is clearly understood that no royalty, fee or other compensation shall become payable to me by reason of such use.

Identifying File Name of Photo(s):

Printed Name of Subject(s):

Signature of Subject(s), if over 18 years of age:

Printed Name of Parent/Guardian, if subject is under 18 years of age:

Signature of Parent/Guardian, if subject is under 18 years of age:

Mailing address:

City, State, Zip:

Telephone number:

Email Address:

Thank you for helping us to showcase the children of Maine!

If you have questions, please contact:

Cindy Han

Communications Director

Office: (207) 623-1868 ext 205

chan@mekids.org