Op-ed: Investing early means better returns on Maine's future ...

Posted on April 09, 2012, at 12:29 a.m.

The Maine State Legislature will soon be voting on a continuing set of general fund cuts that will drastically affect the future of Maine ? LD 1903.

In his 2011 inaugural address, Gov. Paul LePage said, ?Every decision we make and every dollar we spend must be focused on the individualized needs of our kids.?

But LePage is now going against his word, trying to eliminate funding for Head Start, a program supporting the individualized needs of our kids. Head Start is a comprehensive early-childhood care and education program that promotes school readiness for the most vulnerable of children, infancy to age 5.

This program is designed to enhance low-income children?s social and cognitive development through individualized educational and developmental plans.

Head Start provides children from low-income families math and literacy education, day care, health and dental screenings and services, mental health support, nutrition education and family advocacy.

About 20 percent of the enrolled children have disabilities, and many more come from homes where substance abuse and domestic violence are the norm. About 65 percent of children in Maine are living in homes where each parent works. Head Start programs, designed with this in mind, provide parents the ability to pursue employment goals, which will ultimately enhance the economic opportunity for their children.

Maine is one of only 16 states that provide supplementary funding to Head Start. Maine?s children have always been seen as a precious asset, which is apparent from LePage?s comment above.

Head Start is designed as a prevention program for children who, due to circumstance, experience various social and economic barriers that prevent them from the educational opportunities and access to health care necessary for success.

Previous studies of Head Start participants have found enrolled children are far more likely to have better graduation ? or GED ? rates than non-enrolled low-income children.?In similar national longitudinal studies, Head Start participants were significantly less likely to have been arrested by age 22 than similar non-enrolled individuals.

This increased inverse relationship between graduation and arrest rates seems like it positively impacts the Maine taxpayer?s wallet. Estimates of the return on investment for early education programs for low-income children range from $4 to $17 for every $1 spent in Maine in 2009.

Cutting state funding for Head Start may decrease the deficit in our state?s general budget in the short term; however, all tax-paying citizens will end up spending more in the long run.

Parents of affected children will be forced to pay a disproportionate amount of their income to ensure their child is cared for, forcing low-income families under a glass ceiling of economic instability and hardship. This at-risk environment may prevent kids from attaining the education and economic opportunity desired for them by their parents and the state.

If the Legislature votes to cut state funding for Head Start, hundreds of children will grow in environments that places them at a disadvantage.

One of the drastic implications of eliminating state funding from Head Start is the threat of losing federally funded grants for Maine?s Head Start programs. The federal government is now implementing a policy where state Head Start programs will have to compete for a limited number of federally funded grants. Maine could see the complete elimination of the Head Start program if the Maine Legislature votes to remove state funding while federal funding for this program is facing such volatile times.

We should not let our governor?s hypocrisy cloud the perceptions of our legislators.

As citizens of Maine and neighbors and friends of hard-working parents with children in Head Start programs, it is our responsibility to speak up for Maine?s future. Investment in early childhood education equals real economic prosperity for Maine.

For many, waiting to invest in opportunities for Maine children when they enter primary and secondary school is too late. To ensure all Maine kids reach their full potential, we urge you to contact your legislator or visit www.standup4mekids.org and let them know that you want all Maine children to succeed.

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Merri-Beth Bumpus and Alexia Corbett are candidates for master?s degrees in social work. Liz Miller got her bachelor?s degree in social work in 2011. She is a non-degree graduate student.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 9th, 2012, 12:29 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.

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