I strongly support and appreciate the Press Herald editorial board’s recent Sunday editorial “Troubling child welfare report should light a fire under Maine” (Our View, April 30).
The Maine Children’s Alliance 2023 Maine Kids Count Data Book that the editorial refers to not only lays out the challenges facing Maine, but also lists many policy options to help support children and families and businesses across the state.
I want to highlight one of the solutions noted: “Maine needs to support its child care industry.” I could not agree more. The pandemic highlighted the problems facing families looking for affordable and quality child care options. Many family child care programs closed, in large part, because the economics of running a child care are extremely challenging, and child care providers are some of the lowest-paid employees in our state. And businesses are struggling to find employees; child care can be a major barrier for employees or those looking to return to the workforce.
While one bill will not solve all issues, a comprehensive bill before the Maine Legislature right now strengthens our child care system and workforce. I strongly urge everyone to support L.D. 1726, An Act to Build Maine’s Economy by Supporting Child Care for Working Families, sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson and co-sponsored by Democrats and Republicans. I urge readers to let their legislative representatives know that we need to support our child care system across Maine to support children, families, businesses and our future workforce.
Peter Lindsay
board member, Maine Children’s Alliance
North Yarmouth
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