Good News for Maine’s Children & Families

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In the last five years, the state has been ranked in the top five in the country as the best state to raise a child.
Maine has the fourth highest rate of children with health insurance in the country. Only 6% of Maine’s youth are without healthcare.
Smoking among high school students in Maine has dropped 36% since 1997.
For the seventh year in a row, Maine ranks in the top five States (4th) for the lowest rate of teen pregnancy.
Child support collections on behalf of 61,000 Maine families lead all states. In 2000, $96 million was collected, in 2001 $100 million was collected, and in 2002 $105 million was collected to date.
Maine's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) caseloads are the lowest since the late 1960’s and the rate of families returning to the TANF Program is a low 6%.
Development of a statewide crisis system for all Maine residents.
Decreased out-of-state placements of children from 250 to 90.
Development of in-home behavioral health services serving over 1900 children.
Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services provides mental health referrals and treatment in correctional facilities.
69 Communities representing 319 municipalities have mobilized to create local leadership Councils as part of Communities for Children.
Maine has recently been awarded $3 million each year for the next three years to work comprehensively to reduce binge drinking by 10% and tobacco use by 15%.
Alternative Education programs have been established in at least 90 schools statewide with a rising increase in creative alternatives for youth K-12.
Two new juvenile justice facilities, with comprehensive cognitive-behavioral programs are in place.
Comprehensive services for juvenile offenders has led Maine to be tied for the third lowest rate in the country of juveniles detained or committed in the system.
Comprehensive Quality Assurance program, assessing both the internal and external factors related to case management and positive client outcomes.
Development of 12 Restorative Justice, Juvenile Community Resolution Teams statewide for first-time misdemeanor offenders and their victims.
We have organized and managed a computer crimes task force which is targeting child pornography
We have computerized all the criminal history records, making criminal record checks available to caseworkers.
Training police officers in predominant aggressor identification to eliminate inappropriate dual arrests, and keeping youth in a safe home.
The Enhanced 911 system has been implemented statewide and has made it easier for youth to call for police, fire or bus help.
Forbes Magazine rated Maine at the top in education cost efficiency. Per pupil spending is near the national average, while student achievement on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is regularly the best in the nation.
Maine has the highest rate of high school completion in America - 94.5% compared to the national average of 86.5% (USDOE 2001)
Maine will become the first state in the nation to equip all seventh and eighth grade students and teachers with portable, wireless, personal computers, beginning in 2002 and expanding to eighth grade in 2003.
Maine consistently places at the top (2nd in 2001) of Education Week's national rankings of states in the quality of school climate characterized by: small class size; low behavior problems; high student engagement; strong parent involvement; high attendance; local autonomy.
Maine has received national acclaim for its first-in-the-country focus on reforming our high schools, and is now engaged in similar groundbreaking efforts to address student behavior and ethics through character education partnerships.
Maine is #1 in Education Week’s ranking among the states in the quality of school climate, because class size is small, student engagement is high, parent involvement is strong, and local autonomy exists.
Maine ranks sixth in the county in terms of high school completion.
Perception of public safety has improved.