Week of the Young Child

This week, Maine members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, ReadyNation and Mission: Readiness are joining in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Week of the Young Child by raising their voices to help highlight the needs of young children and their families across our state, while recognizing, thanking, and celebrating the vital role that early childhood educators play in our communities.

Across Maine, the public will visually express their support for early childhood education by decorating their front doors. Early childhood programs and families will be participating in developmental activities with children that include music, cooking, working together, art, and celebrating families.

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“High-quality, family-based child care is critical in rural Maine. Luckily, we have some successful programs—now we need to grow this to reach more children and families.”
Randy Liberty, Commissioner, Maine Department of Corrections and member, Fight Crime: Invest In Kids

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“When families are looking to move to Maine and interested in moving to Maine, one of the first things they ask about is what are the childcare offerings? Are they high quality? Are there enough slots for their children?

If we were able to offer high-quality child care for every family across the state, regardless of where they lived in Maine, we would have a thriving workforce, and a wonderful economy. We would have people wanting to move here specifically to work and raise their children. That’s how important this investment is to students, families, the economy, and to workforce attraction.”
Jason Judd, Executive Director, Educate Maine, and member, ReadyNation

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“Quality early learning and child care programs significantly help kids build a strong foundation for success throughout school and as adults. They are a key part of the solution to increasing both the number of people in Maine’s workforce and their skill level, two of Maine’s biggest economic challenges. These programs can also serve to attract new families to our state, helping to grow Maine’s workforce.”
Steve deCastro, President & CEO, Gorham Savings Bank, and member, ReadyNation

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“As co-chair of Gov. Janet Mills’ Economic Recovery Committee, I was part of a private-sector group tasked with identifying the challenges and policy recommendations to fix the multiple problems created or exacerbated by the pandemic. It became crystal clear to us early on that the lack of access to affordable quality child care not only creates a dilemma for families, but also holds back our economy. This challenge, as much as any other, is a major roadblock for both children and their parents to meet their potential, particularly in places like rural Maine…The true realities of child care access now will continue to hold true after the pandemic is over. Child care is a key foundation that supports all segments of Maine’s economy. If we want to help families succeed, and the economy to truly benefit everyone, high-quality child care should be more readily available for children all across Maine.”
Laurie Lachance, President, Thomas College, and Chair, Governor Mills Economic Recovery Committee and member, ReadyNation

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“Early childhood programs help develop youth who are more likely to be healthy and fit, do well in school, graduate, and be well-prepared for many life options after graduation, including military service if they choose that path.”
Major General (Ret.) Bill Libby, U.S. Army, former Maine Adjutant General and former Maine Commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, and member, Mission: Readiness

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“The business community has learned many hard lessons during the pandemic. One of those lessons is that without reliable child care, parents can’t work. That makes helping fix parents’ barriers to high-quality child care a priority issue for business leaders.”
Jim Clair, CEO, Clair Group of Companies, and Chair, Educare Central Maine, and member, ReadyNation