Growing up in Maine

Whether Maine truly is the best state in the nation to raise a child, as a Washington organization announced yesterday, is impossible to say and, individually, depends a lot on local opportunities. Nevertheless, the ranking confirms that Maine does many things well for its children.

A group called the Children’s Rights Council, which focuses on the healthy development of children with parents who are divorced or separated, announced its fifth annual findings yesterday. It used standards such as immunization rates, high school drop out rates, infant mortality and prenatal care for mothers to determine where children get the best start. The results were not surprising: New England takes care of its kids. The top five finishers, in order, were Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The results are encouraging because they mean that public and private efforts can make a difference in improving the lives of children – keeping many of them healthier, in school and providing them with the possibility of leading rich and satisfying lives. It is something to keep in mind when the Legislature starts flailing its collective arms about tax rates; Maine often gets good value for its money and should take care when cutting programs to save a few dollars.

Besides, there is more to do, not only in obvious places like the Maine Youth Center, but in schools where, on average, 25 percent of students read below grade level or in health care — 25,000 children in Maine lack coverage. The state has growing numbers of children needing special education and more requesting protection-from-abuse orders. Maine has plenty of places to continue to make improvement, from the hard ones, like helping kids who have dropped out of life for any of a thousand reasons to the easy ones, like giving parents time off from work to bring a child to a doctor’s appointment.

Because the Children’s Rights Council currently is celebrating Equal Parents Week, Maine also might remind itself of the rights and responsibilities of both parents of a child, whether or not they are married. Coordinated by Maine Dads, events tonight in Portland, Houlton, Bar Harbor and Augusta are scheduled to reinforce the message that “the best parent is both parents.”

Parents, especially, should be included in the congratulations for Maine’s top ranking by the council. By looking out for their kids and supporting community and statewide programs, they’ve made Maine an enviable place in which to grow up.