LEWISTON - Good early child care and parent education could save Maine money on jails, special education and substance abuse, Attorney General Steven Rowe told a group at University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn College on Wednesday.

It could make workers happier and make businesses more productive, he said. It could help children, fortify families and strengthen the state.

If only society made it a priority.

"It's one thing to say 'I've diagnosed the problem.' It's another to get people support, because you get on a waiting list and it's 'Good luck with services; we're cutting.' I know that story," Rowe said. "But I think this is the best investment we can make."

A staunch proponent of parent education and high-quality, low-cost child care for Maine's youngest children, Rowe speaks two or three times a month to business people and economic leaders to encourage greater support for early childhood initiatives. On Wednesday, he spoke to more than two dozen college students, educators and others involved in early childhood education in the area - people who already believe in the value of taking care of Maine's children but who wanted to hear the attorney general's views.

"People say 'Why are you doing this?'" said Rowe, a father of four. "I do it because I think it's important."

For nearly an hour Wednesday, Rowe spoke about brain development and the importance of stability and caring adults in children's lives. He noted that 18,000 Maine children under age 2 need child care, though only 7,000 infant and toddler slots have been licensed by the state - a disparity that leaves too many children without quality care, he said.

And without quality care, Rowe said, children are more likely to develop problems later on - problems that can require expensive solutions, like special education.

"If you care about your pocketbook, about taxes, you should care about kids," he said.

Rowe backed higher pay for child care workers, more male role models for very young children and parental education for young mothers and fathers. With just 13,500 babies born in Maine every year - 38 a day - he said the state could find a way to help all children. It would need to make it a priority.

"If we can change this, I think we'll stay with it even in bad times because we'll realize the value of it," he said.