The editorial in the Sun Journal on March 7, “Oversight of child care needs sharpening,” unfairly portrays the quality of Maine’s system of child care. It maligns both the quality of care and the qualifications of those workers who oversee their services.

Maine currently employs 14 community care workers, whose resumes include eight bachelor’s degrees, one master’s degree, and one associate degree. In addition, staff is trained in 23 different aspects of licensing, ranging from provider support services to technical health and safety issues. This training is far from the editorial’s statement that “less than an associate degree is status quo.”

Maine is one of 17 states that provide for inspection of abuse and neglect of children outside their homes. The “Institutional Abuse Unit” as it is known, is also located in the licensing division. These trained investigators supplement our licensing resources with specific skills in forensic investigations involving children.

The suggestion that we have untrained staff overseeing untrained providers is simply not the case. Moreover, the editorial conclusion that parents’ concern should “morph into fear” is most alarming. A recent survey of all licensed child care centers reported that 75 percent of all center directors have an associate degree or higher, with 39 percent at the bachelor’s degree level and 14 percent with a master’s degree.

Licensing rules require all center staff to have 30 hours of training each year.

Maine has developed a comprehensive system of training and technical assistance for child care providers. The Maine Roads to Quality Child Care and Early Education Career Development Center is dedicated to achieving high standards in child care and early education. It offers a 180-hour core knowledge training program through the Regional Child Care Resource Development Centers, assists facilities who are seeking accreditation and hosts Leadership Institutes for Child Care Center Directors.

Centers currently earn a reimbursement differential, and parents receive additional tax credits if the center has earned a Quality Certificate. Quality for ME, a voluntary four-step quality rating system program to increase awareness of the indicators of quality, is being piloted, with the goal of statewide implementation in the near future.

This system will inform parents as they select a child care program.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services takes its responsibility to oversee child care services seriously. I think Sun Journal readers would be better served by the publication of information about how parents select a child care provider that is right for them, rather than scaring parents with oversimplifications raised by a national scorecard.

Cathy Cobb, director

Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services, Augusta