Issue Brief

Trends in demographic data represent both challenges and opportunities for Maine to achieve the goal of being a thriving place for all to live, work, and raise a family. With the oldest population in the nation, Maine faces the challenges of caring for older adults and meeting its current and future workforce needs. On the positive side, migration to Maine by people from out-of-state and shifts in racial representation are making Maine more diverse. By recognizing the trends in our population, we can better plan for the programs, services, and systems that will ensure greater long-term social and economic prosperity for all children, families, and our state in general.

Trends in demographic data represent both challenges and opportunities for Maine to achieve the goal of being a thriving place for all to live, work, and raise a family. With the oldest population in the nation, Maine faces the challenges of caring for older adults and meeting its current and future workforce needs. On the positive side, migration to Maine by people from out-of-state and shifts in racial representation are contributing to a decline in the median age, as well as younger and more diverse communities. By recognizing the trends in our population, we can better plan for the programs, services, and systems that will ensure greater long-term social and economic prosperity for children, families, and our state.

Family reunification is the process of bringing together children and families when their children have been temporarily placed in out-of-home care. The goal is to help each child and family achieve and maintain an optimal level of connection, from full re-entry to other forms of contact, such as visiting, that affirm the child’s membership in the family.

In order to develop and implement effective system improvement efforts, it is essential to consider and incorporate all types of high quality practices and services into systems of care for children, youth, and families.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to another public health crisis in Maine: a rising number of child deaths from abuse and neglect. Policymakers and advocates are focusing on improvements to the child protective agency, but this is only part of the picture. Maine’s child protective services are being overwhelmed by maltreatment reports. The majority of these children are experiencing neglect, not physical abuse. There is substantial evidence that investment in services to stabilize families can prevent abuse and neglect and decrease the need for child protective intervention

Mainers have a long tradition of working together to solve tough problems. Right now, we face a significant, but solvable challenge of an inadequate early care and education (ECE) system. In fact, the problem is that it isn’t a “system” at all but a patchwork of programs of variable quality, affordability, and availability throughout the state. In the following sections, we briefly describe the current challenges facing both families and providers, strategies to help repair our patchwork of programs throughout the state to create a true early childhood system, and what kinds of investments are required to build and sustain that system.

We are all eager to provide an improved academic experience for students this fall, and ideally, for a safe return to classroom instruction. As state and local leaders consider the reopening of schools, there are many important factors that should be considered. In addition to the necessary health and safety considerations of students and staff, it is critical to also address social-emotional and mental health, as well as the needs of specific student populations.

To become successful adults, young peopleneed basic, essential supports like nurturing relationships with caring adults, positive educational environments, and health care, including mental and behavioral health services. When young people have these positive experiences early in life, it shapes their brain development toward good decision-making and impulse control. Yet many young people have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that do not support their positive development.

Growing up in povertycan dramatically impact a child’s life. Child poverty can adversely affect children across all developmental domains, beginning in early childhood and lasting into adulthood. Living in poverty also increases a child’s risk for poor health, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational outcomes. Adults who grew up in poverty are more likely to earn less, to have chronic health issues, and to struggle to maintain steady, stable employment. This is especially true for adults who spent long periods of their childhood in poverty, or periods of their childhood in deep poverty. Therefore, it is critical to the health and well-being of Maine’s children and to our shared future success, that we work to eradicate child poverty in our state.

Based on our experiences and knowledge of available research and promising practices, we offer the following five priority reform recommendations for making both immediate and long-term improvements to the systems designed to protect children and strengthen families.

For many families, the most appropriate choice is a family member or neighbor to provide the child care. This type of child care is referred to as “informal,” “license exempt,” or “Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN).”

Children develop key early literacy skills during the first five years of life. These skills prepare them to learn and succeed when they enter kindergarten.