Congratulations to the new Sweatt-Winter Child Care and Early Education Center at the University of Maine at Farmington. My thanks to Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins for helping to secure the funding needed for this new state-of-the art center for our youngest learners, as well as a teaching lab for UMF students studying early childhood development.

High-quality child care programs like those the Sweatt-Winter Center will offer are critical for both young children and their working parents. I can also attest to the fact that they help support community safety.

Early learning programs help start children off on the right path in life and keep them safe. We know that the first five years of life are critical to each child’s development. Early learning programs also give parents the peace of mind that their children are safe and nurtured while they are working. As someone who has spent my entire career in law enforcement, I also know that kids who participate in early learning programs are significantly less likely to be involved in criminal activity as they grow older.

Setting our youngest children up for later success in school and life is also foundational to helping Maine support our state’s educational attainment goal that 60% of Maine adults will earn a post-secondary degree or credential of value by 2025 and into the future.

Farmington families will reap the benefits of high-quality early learning at the Sweatt-Winter Child Care and Early Education Center for generations to come.

Kenneth Charles, Farmington chief of police

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