I am a County Girl, born and raised and built my house in Mapleton. I have an older sister and my parents have been together since high school. I graduated from Presque Isle High School in 2011 followed by my Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Maine Presque Isle in 2015 as the Social Work Student of the Year, and University of Maine Orono with my Master of Social Work in 2020. I have worked at the Aroostook Mental Health Center since graduating in May 2020. Between my bachelor and masters degree, I joined the United States Peace Corps and served just under a year in the Philippines. I married a farm boy from Easton who attended high school with me. I have a 9 year old step son and an almost 2 year old son.
I have spent the last four years working as boots on the ground in this mental health catastrophe, struggling through the childcare crisis and grappling with our economy. I have always had an interest in politics and government, but at this time in my life it has become more important to stand up for what is right and make a difference for my community and our future. The pillars of social work include advocacy, service and social justice. I hold these values close and they motivate me to run for office, to be a voice for those who may not have a voice, and stand for those who are unable to stand up.
I believe in government by the people, for the people and of the people. “Our budgets are a moral document”. We need to change where our funding goes to match what we say our priorities are. This starts with engaging with constituencies to understand their values and how to make their lives easier.
Rural Maine has been disproportionately affected by the substance use epidemic and lack of mental health services. We need to increase access, increase the workforce, and increase services for all areas of need. Including stakeholders in regulation discussions and insurance parity with physical health care are first steps in this process.
Wages have to increase to allow people to comfortably live when they work full time jobs, especially with two income households. We have to make it worth it to go to work and address the ‘welfare cliff’.
Aroostook County has always been known as a great place to raise a family. It is important that our community continue to provide opportunities and resources that are family oriented. Options for quality childcare are vital for our economic success. Competitive schools improve the potential of our towns. Investing in the care and education of our children is an investment in our future.
Communities and families grow in homes. We have to increase supply of all kinds of housing to lower market prices and improve access and affordability.
Child care industry faces ongoing challenges in rural Aroostook County
As parents in Maine and across the country struggle to find and keep childcare, those challenges are amplified in rural areas like Aroostook county, where its particularly hard to hire and retain staff, and keep fees affordable for parents, all in a time of significant inflation. Northern Maine Community College is coming at the problem in a way that's designed to not only provide more child care spaces in the region, but generate more capacity in the future.
Melanie Tompkins of Mapleton says she was delighted when her son Lucien made it off the waitlist at Miss Jordyn's Childcare and Preschool, nearly 30 miles away in Caribou.
It was just before his first birthday, and while at first he was nervous to start in the new environment, he quickly settled in and began to blossom.
"I mean, she was definitely like the top-notch daycare provider and not just daycare, like it was a school environment," Tompkins said. "So he learned, he flourished. He did really well."
But just six months later, the center closed, leaving 100 kids, including Lucien, without care, and his mother searching for other options. It’s a problem that working families across the country face every day.
Meanwhile, childcare workers have their own challenges. Julia Blake is in her final semester for an associates degrees in the early childhood education program at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle. She grew up going to her mom's childcare center, Circle Of Friends Daycare and is doing her required field work there now.
Blake says because the state has specific staff to child ratios, children may be moved between rooms when staffing levels are low.
"She'll have to give me some kids in the morning so she can fit ratio," Blake said. "But then I'll have like more kids show up. And then I'll be over ratio, and it's like, a constant back and forth."
In an effort to respond to the childcare crisis on a local level, NMCC has begun work on transforming Penobscot hall on campus into a new childcare center.
It will offer care for the children of students and faculty, but will also serve as a training site for students in the early childhood education program.
But with a shortage of childcare centers in the region, the college can't guarantee its graduates will have a place to work when they complete their training.
"So we might be producing a lot of you know, professionals into the field, but they may not go directly into childcare," said Danielle Rae Clark, an instructor in the early childhood education program.
She says one goal for instructors is to prepare these young workers to open their own centers someday, which can require them to navigate through layers of bureaucracy and licensing.
"And many people who go into this field, while they're really good at working with children and know what they're doing there," she said. "They're not really accountants, and they're not really secretaries. And to be able to start your own center, you need to be able to do those things."
Since the closure of Miss Jordyn's in August the Tompkins family has been able leave their young son Lucien in the care of a family friend. But the situation has been disruptive.
"For our family, it was just like a huge loss, you know, that consistency and stability and the quality," Tompkins said.
Tompkins is a social worker, and says she understands the potential harm of moving kids in and out of different environments. She's reluctant to place Lucien into the first available childcare spot, only to have to pull him out shortly after when he starts school. There are no easy answers, she says.
"There's so many different balls in the air to try to make sure you're making the best choice for everybody," Tompkins said.
Meanwhile demolition is underway on the NMCC campus, and work on the new childcare center will continue through the winter, and into in the spring. Once open it will have spots for 47 children.
https://www.mainepublic.org/business-and-economy/2024-01-26/child-care-industry-faces-ongoing-challenges-in-rural-aroostook-county
Child care industry faces ongoing challenges in rural Aroostook County
As parents in Maine and across the country struggle to find and keep childcare, those challenges are amplified in rural areas like Aroostook county, where its particularly hard to hire and retain staff, and keep fees affordable for parents, all in a time of significant inflation. Northern Maine Community College is coming at the problem in a way that's designed to not only provide more child care spaces in the region, but generate more capacity in the future.
Melanie Tompkins of Mapleton says she was delighted when her son Lucien made it off the waitlist at Miss Jordyn's Childcare and Preschool, nearly 30 miles away in Caribou.
It was just before his first birthday, and while at first he was nervous to start in the new environment, he quickly settled in and began to blossom.
"I mean, she was definitely like the top-notch daycare provider and not just daycare, like it was a school environment," Tompkins said. "So he learned, he flourished. He did really well."
But just six months later, the center closed, leaving 100 kids, including Lucien, without care, and his mother searching for other options. It’s a problem that working families across the country face every day.
Meanwhile, childcare workers have their own challenges. Julia Blake is in her final semester for an associates degrees in the early childhood education program at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle. She grew up going to her mom's childcare center, Circle Of Friends Daycare and is doing her required field work there now.
Blake says because the state has specific staff to child ratios, children may be moved between rooms when staffing levels are low.
"She'll have to give me some kids in the morning so she can fit ratio," Blake said. "But then I'll have like more kids show up. And then I'll be over ratio, and it's like, a constant back and forth."
In an effort to respond to the childcare crisis on a local level, NMCC has begun work on transforming Penobscot hall on campus into a new childcare center.
It will offer care for the children of students and faculty, but will also serve as a training site for students in the early childhood education program.
But with a shortage of childcare centers in the region, the college can't guarantee its graduates will have a place to work when they complete their training.
"So we might be producing a lot of you know, professionals into the field, but they may not go directly into childcare," said Danielle Rae Clark, an instructor in the early childhood education program.
She says one goal for instructors is to prepare these young workers to open their own centers someday, which can require them to navigate through layers of bureaucracy and licensing.
"And many people who go into this field, while they're really good at working with children and know what they're doing there," she said. "They're not really accountants, and they're not really secretaries. And to be able to start your own center, you need to be able to do those things."
Since the closure of Miss Jordyn's in August the Tompkins family has been able leave their young son Lucien in the care of a family friend. But the situation has been disruptive.
"For our family, it was just like a huge loss, you know, that consistency and stability and the quality," Tompkins said.
Tompkins is a social worker, and says she understands the potential harm of moving kids in and out of different environments. She's reluctant to place Lucien into the first available childcare spot, only to have to pull him out shortly after when he starts school. There are no easy answers, she says.
"There's so many different balls in the air to try to make sure you're making the best choice for everybody," Tompkins said.
Meanwhile demolition is underway on the NMCC campus, and work on the new childcare center will continue through the winter, and into in the spring. Once open it will have spots for 47 children.
https://www.mainepublic.org/business-and-economy/2024-01-26/child-care-industry-faces-ongoing-challenges-in-rural-aroostook-county
Op-Ed: Fix the Child Care Crisis
Everyday I find myself wrapped up in the middle of the childcare issue as a mom with two children and a provider of child and family mental health services throughout Aroostook County. I was personally impacted by the closure of Miss Jordyn’s in Caribou leaving me scrambling to find another spot for my 18-month-old. Many of my colleagues and friends continue to struggle with childcare and have had to reduce their work hours, change their schedule or leave the workforce altogether.
For decades, research has shown how important the first five years of life are for development, impacting things such as mental health disorders, academic abilities and future relationships. Everyday I work with youth and families whose lives could be improved by having access to quality childcare. Bessel Van Der Kolk discusses how investing in our youth more than pays for itself by reducing welfare costs, increasing tax revenue and reducing crime and incarceration.
The current economic situation has created a need for dual-income households and thus increases the demand for professional childcare.
A viable solution to this childcare crisis is to include funding for care of children ages zero to five in our public education budgets. Sen. Troy Jackson has already begun work on the childcare issue but has been limited in his ability to make large-scale change. Let’s support him and our community’s families and fix the childcare crisis!
Melanie Tompkins
Mapleton
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/26/opinion/letterx-fix-the-child-care-crisis/
