Task Force on Early Childhood

Maine is one of nine states to be awarded a two-year planning grant from the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Born out of the ongoing dedication of the Task Force on Early Childhood, the planning grant entitled “Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Grant (Humane Systems for Early Childhood Project),” gives Maine an exciting opportunity to foster and sustain humane, family-centered, community-rooted, culturally proficient, and strength-based systems to promote the health and safety of all young children and families.

The goals of the Task Force on Early Childhood’s Humane Systems for Early Childhood Project now chaired by First Lady Karen Baldacci grew out of the Task Force on Early Childhood’s goals and within the context of a wide array of efforts throughout the state. The goals are rooted in a vision for Maine in which all children live, grow, and learn in a safe, nurturing, and healthy environment. They are rooted in a mission in which all families assume responsibility to nurture their children, all communities assume responsibility to strengthen families, and the state as a whole assumes responsibility to assure that systems for early childhood share common quality standards and respect the diversity and uniqueness of families. The four goals are to develop a plan that will:

1) Secure needed resources for young children.

2) Strengthen and expand commitments to assist parents of young children.

3) Balance cognitive development with the emotional and physical needs of young children.

4) Guarantee effective service systems for young children.

The newly expanded Task Force on Early Childhood is chaired by First Lady Karen Baldacci http://www.maine.gov/firstlady/ and consists of four workgroups to address each of the four project goals, and a Steering Committee that has as its membership, the following dedicated experts:

Dr. Richard Aronson, Director, Bureau of Health’s Maternal Child Health

Laurie Bertulli, Director, Child Development Services

Jan Clarkin, Director, Maine Children’s Trust

Steven Rowe, Attorney General

Karen Westburg, Director, Bureau of Child and Family Services’ Child Protective Services

Dana Connors, Director, Maine Chamber of Commerce

Jane Gilbert, Dept. of Labor

Carolyn Drugee, DHS/Office of Childcare/Head Start

Mary Duross, Maine Public Broadcast

Cary Olson, Fleet Bank Foundation

Rita Fullerton, Director, Child Care Options

Ellie Goldberg, Director, Maine Children’s Alliance

Susan Savell, Executive Coordinator, Communities for Children & Youth

Dorothy Schwartz, Maine Humanities Council

Betsy Squibb, U Maine Farmington

Burtt Richardson, Healthy Future’s Pediatrician

Ellen Bridge, Public Health Nursing

Butch Dawbin, Parent

Angela Palmer, Parent/Nurse

Shalom Odokara, Women in Need

Fatuma Hussein, United Somali Women of Maine

Linda Labas, Center for Community Inclusion

Marilyn Russell, Maine Roads to Quality

Lauren Sterling, Children’s Cabinet, Steering Committee Staff Liaison