Data mixed on well-being of Maine kids

AUGUSTA – The state’s efforts to improve the well-being of its children got mixed reviews again this year with the release Tuesday of the 12th annual Kids Count Data Book.

On the plus side, for example, the report indicated Maine continues to be a leader in insuring its children, with all but about 19,000 children under 18 having health care coverage in 2004. The number of babies born to teenage girls is still declining, from 14.6 births per 1,000 girls under 18 in 1990 down to 7.7 births per 1,000 in 2002, the most recent year for which the state has accurate data.

But more Maine children were living in poverty in 2002 than in any year since 1997. The rates of domestic assault on juveniles and of hospitalization for mental health and substance abuse diagnoses have increased as well. And Maine’s rate of child and adolescent suicide – 6.3 per 1,000 children ages 10 to 19 – remains significantly higher than the national average of 4.3 suicides per 1,000 in that age group.

A project of the Maine Children’s Alliance and funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count focuses on three major areas: physical and mental health, social and economic status, and education and learning.

It provides county-by-county breakdowns of dozens of issues, ranging from infant mortality to college enrollments, and including juvenile arrest rates, household incomes and access to health care. For many of these points, Kids Count also shows multiyear graphs and charts that reveal statewide trends and responses to changes in public policy.

At a State House media conference Tuesday, Gov. John Baldacci thanked the Maine Children’s Alliance for compiling the information and called the yearly publication “a valuable tool for myself and other policy-makers interested in providing a safe, stable environment for the children of our state.”

Baldacci noted that of the 19,000 children without health insurance coverage, about 12,000 are eligible for MaineCare, as Medicaid is called here, but haven’t been enrolled.

“We know that’s because their parents aren’t covered. When parents aren’t covered, their children are less likely to be covered,” the governor said.

Baldacci pointed out that under a provision of Maine’s subsidized health insurance plan – DirigoChoice – about 9,400 working parents with incomes of up to 200 percent of the federal poverty limit will be eligible for MaineCare benefits beginning in April. These new enrollees won’t have any payments to make, but their employers must be willing to pay 60 percent of their monthly premium into a fund that will be used to draw federal Medicaid dollars. The governor expressed confidence that extending MaineCare health coverage to low-income parents would encourage them to enroll their children as well.

Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, also spoke at Tuesday’s press event, calling on the state to provide more effective treatment for mental health disorders and substance abuse.

“We would not ignore outbreaks of typhoid or cholera targeting our children; we cannot sit still and tolerate the assault of these preventable and treatable diseases either,” she said.

Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe also took the podium, expressing concern over the societal and economic effects of household violence, neglect and substance abuse. Social programs such as home visits and subsidized child care have proved effective in reducing rates of mental illness, learning disabilities and criminal behaviors, Rowe said.

Kids Count project director Dr. Lynn Davey said poverty remains a critical issue for Maine families. Thirty-nine percent of all Maine children live in low-income households, she said, a factor linked to school performance, mental health and physical health.

“A healthy future for children requires making sure all families have a chance at the American dream – work that pays, having enough to eat, raising children in safe communities, and being able to afford quality health care and child care,” Dr. Davey said.

The Maine Kids Count Data Book for 2005 can be viewed online at www.mekids.org. or by calling the Maine Children’s Alliance at 623-1868, ext. 202.