By Molly Lovell

Staff Writer

    If Maine invests in more high quality, early
education programs now, the state’s economy will improve in the future
– that’s the message that Attorney General Steven Rowe sent when he
recently addressed a small crowd of Scarborough residents at Town Hall.

    Rowe said he deals with a range of situations from
homicides and financial crimes to child abuse and domestic violence
situations.

    “I see a lot of spending that goes on trying to fix problems that I believe don’t have to occur,” he said.

    Rowe said such problems could be addressed if more
attention was paid to a child’s early development, specifically,
children under the age of five.

    Eighty-five percent of brain development occurs
before the age of three, he said, and added, “It allows us to succeed
and it causes us to fail . . . the first three years are critical to
everything that happens after that.”

    During the first three years of life, a child’s
neurological connections are laying the foundation for intellectual,
emotional, social, moral and physical development, he said.

    A number of factors contribute to how a child’s
brain develops. Healthy brain development comes from being in a
nurturing and stable environment with positive stimulation and an
absence of stress. Negative impacts to brain development include
exposure to domestic violence or substance abuse situations.

    A combination of parent strengthening programs and
quality early childcare and education should produce healthy brain
development, Rowe said.

Something parents can do is elect to have a home visitor come into
their homes to provide healthy tips and education. This program is
offered by the state and available for the first-born child in the
family. The service is offered until the child is five-years-old.

    “You may find it hard to believe, but we’re not born
with good parenting skills. It’s learned behavior,” Rowe said.

    Only one out of every six families who qualify for
this service takes advantage of it. “We’re not talking about displacing
parents, we’re talking about strengthening parents,” Rowe said.

    The next component in helping children develop in a
healthy way is providing high quality early care and education.

    Rowe said five percent of babies that are born in
Maine go home with a neurological problem or issue and that by the time
they enter school, 18 percent of those children are receiving special
education services.

    “Something is happening on the way to kindergarten,” he said.

    Children who experience high quality care, Rowe
said, are more likely to have better jobs and higher earnings as adults
and contribute to the tax base. They are also less likely to become
teen parents and be dependent on welfare.

    Citing a Michigan study on investing in quality
care, Rowe said a $16 return was seen for every $1 invested. “It’s
phenomenal, the earlier you invest, the greater return,” he said.

    In Maine right now there are 70,000 children under
the age of five. Both parents of 47,000 of those children work. “These
are the number kids that need quality childcare,” he said.

    There are currently 27,000 license care spots in
Maine, meaning there’s a shortage of 20,000 spots. He said the shortage
is most acute in children under two-years-old. There are 18,000
children age two or under and 7,000 licensed slots.

    He said the problem is that there is no incentive
for college students to pursue a career in early childhood education.
Those in the higher education field average $60,000 a year while those
specializing in kindergarten through grade 12 average $40,000 a year,
both with benefits. He said the average yearly income for someone in
the early childhood education field is $20,000 with no benefits.

    Rowe said childcare centers should be called, “child
brain development centers,” and child care workers, should be called,
“neurological engineers.”

    What can the average person do to improve early childhood care?

    Rowe suggested that employers lead by example and
offer childcare to their employees. A recent survey of Maine
manufacturing employees found that 52 percent of employees required
childcare.

    He also suggested letting policymakers know about the effort.

    Pendleton gave the audience a list of bills proposed
for the 2007 legislative agenda that concern improved services for
children. The list can be viewed at Investinmenow.com.

    “Ninety percent of brain development occurs before
age five, but 90 percent of education spending occurs after age five.
Either we don’t understand this, or for some reason, we like spending
money on remedial services,” Rowe said.

    He said a change in how Maine people look at
investing in children at a young age isn’t going to happen overnight.

    He said that when it does happen, however, “It’s
going to change the face of this state.” He said Maine would see more
employers coming to the state along with a higher retention of young
people.

    “What more can we do than to make sure little
children grow up with healthy bodies and healthy brains? We’re talking
about building the foundation. The sky is the limit,” he said.