Young children in Maine, especially from birth to age 5, deserve the best care we can give them to succeed in this world. Yet, as a child care provider I see on a daily basis the struggles working families face. There is a tremendous need for affordable, quality child care and early education.

I went into this profession because when my own son was an infant I found out how difficult it was to work outside of the home and find appropriate child care. Working families are forced to make tough decisions that ultimately may have negative outcomes. Parents should not have to choose between the safety and wellness of their children and their place of employment.

In honor of Child Care Provider Day, let’s take the time to recognize the needs of young children and the adults involved in their care. Parents, teachers, caregivers and other adults play crucial roles in the lives of young children. We should be more aware and celebrate their efforts.

We can show more support for early learning by promoting early literacy programs, thanking teachers and providers who care for young children, supporting new parents with education, and working to ensure that public policies support early education for all young children.

This issue affects all of us, whether you are a parent, business owner or have no children of your own. A startling 85 percent of brain development happens from birth to age 3. There are 45,000 children under the age of 5 with both parents working in Maine, according to state statistics. The economy depends on these parents working.

There are only 25,000 licensed child care slots, with 5,000 of those having a quality certification from the state. For children from birth to age 2, there are only 6,000 licensed care spots for the nearly 20,000 working parents who need them. Many children are on long waiting lists for child care. I still receive weekly phone calls from desperate parents looking for child care.

The median annual cost of child care in Maine is $8,268 for an infant and $6,854 for a preschooler, more than the average cost of public university tuition. It is simply illogical that we are allowing this to happen to our working families. Failure to invest now will result in more money going to special education ($300 million annually), substance abuse treatment ($800 million annually), and domestic violence issues ($1.2 billion).

We are in the midst of a national movement to improve how we look at early care and education. Maine has taken steps to allow family child care providers to have collective bargaining rights, and a written contract with the state as part of the Maine State Employees Association and Service Employees International Union. Maine is already on its way: A bill was passed during the last legislative session that will improve the quality of care for parents, providers and children.

A conference, “Why The Future Matters Now: Maximizing Returns By Investing in the Families and Children of Maine,” will be held Tuesday at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. The purpose of this conference is to have business leaders, philanthropists and community members come together to discuss work force development by talking about how and why we should invest in children and their families. Call 581-3445 or go online at www.extension.umaine.edu/events/FutureMatters/ for more information.

For every dollar invested in early care and education now, the average rate of return is $7 or even as high as $16. We are investing the most at school age and least at the time of greatest impact.

It is illogical to ignore this problematic funding issue any longer. Now is the time to bring our communities in Maine together for our families and their children.

Jessica Bickford of Bangor is vice president of the Maine Family Child Care Association.