The future success of our state relies on what we do today for our children. They will soon be our community and business leaders, educators, professionals, and parents of another generation. As a father of five kiddos myself, I care about their future and want to make sure they have all the tools they need to succeed in life. This is also a huge reason why I ran for office and serve in the State Senate. In the Legislature, we dedicate a significant amount of time working to do what is in the best interest for our children. And, like most legislative matters, there is always more we can do.
Fortunately, we have a great resource available for facts and information to better understand this subject ”“ the Maine Children’s Alliance. Every year, the organization produces the Maine Kids Count publication to enrich local and state discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all of Maine’s children. Research is performed in the areas of economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. These figures assist policy leaders in addressing ways we can improve and ensure more promising futures for the children of Maine.
As one might expect, the results are mixed. Here is what the 2015 report had to say:
EDUCATION
Maine improved in the four measures of education. The number of children not attending preschool has decreased in Maine, although there are still 16,000 children who have not been part of preschool. Fourth-graders not proficient in reading and eighth-graders not proficient in math have also decreased. We have also made strides in the number of high school students not graduating on time. Maine has improved in these measures and is doing better than the national average. We are ranked 16th in education.
HEALTH
Our state improved in three of the four measures in health: numbers for children without health insurance, child and teen deaths, and teens who abuse alcohol or drugs all improved. These figures are also in line with the national average. Maine did worsen in the percentage of low birth weight babies, although we are still doing better than the national percentage. We ranked 10th in health.
ECONOMIC WELL-BEING
The numbers in this category are mixed and concerning. Maine moved back on the percentage of children living in poverty and children whose parents lack secure employment. An estimated 45,000 children in Maine live in poverty. I am pleased the Legislature has taken a proactive approach to addressing poverty and connected issues like childhood hunger, but we clearly still have a lot of work to do. We also need to remain focused on creating and supporting good paying, reliable jobs for Maine people. Our state did improve on children living in households with a high housing cost burden and teens not in school and not working. We ranked 18th in economic well-being.
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
As one might expect, Maine ranked well in this category. We improved in the percentage of teen births and remain unchanged in children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma. And although we slightly fell back on the percentage of children living in high-poverty areas, our numbers in these three measures is significantly lower than the national average. Lastly, we worsened in children in single-parent families, falling more in line with the national percentage. We ranked fifth in family and community. I believe this is a true testament to Maine’s long standing pride in values and way of life.
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Overall, Maine ranked 12th in the nation in this report. These numbers can be encouraging and, at the same time, alarming. At the very least, they serve as a reminder that our work is not done and kids do count in Maine.
To view the full report, go to www.mekids.org.
— Sen. David Dutremble represents Senate District 32 which includes Alfred, Biddeford, Dayton, Kennebunkport and Lyman.
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