Letter to the Editor: On the Children’s Task Force

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[Editor’s Note: This statement was provided by the writer to the Budget Committee and the commissioners at Wednesday’s public hearing. It has been reposted here]

I’m Gwen Doak of Wilton, my husband John is a disabled veteran, we have an almost-three-year-old son Shaun, and we are currently on a fixed income. Our family, friends, and neighbors have been assisted by the organizations whose funding is being threatened, and we are very concerned for our county’s residents. We’ve been served by different programs of Western Maine Community Action, and extended family and neighbors by Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice—most recently our great-aunt in Rangeley, who died last fall. Right now I’ll address our experience with Franklin County Children’s Task Force.

Our primary nurse at the hospital introduced us to CTF, and we took part in their home-visitation program for the first 9 months of our son’s life. As new parents we relied on them for evaluation of his development and health, and you should know CTF provided those visits to 127 families just last year. We are also one of the over 1,500 families that use the clothing exchange they offer, visiting regularly since Shaun is growing so fast! We bring gently-used clothing he’s outgrown and choose a few items for his age and size. Part-time staff ensure I have access whenever I’m able to get by their offices and they neatly sort the items so it’s easy to find things in the short time I have.

I also take CTF’s parenting classes to learn how to better meet Shaun’s needs, and guide him as he grows to become a good citizen and a productive member of our community. Some parents and guardians are required to take them, for visitation or custody reasons, but all of us do it to acquire the ‘tools’ to be effective, gentle parents. Not everyone learns those skills from their own families, and last year 270 of us took those classes. CTF also provides teaching for community members, teachers, counselors, and children in our schools; last year they served 837 adults and 2,286 students in our county that way. The professionals at Children’s Task Force are an incredible resource for us, and their part-time staff provide child-care during the sessions. Those are just some of the jobs and services at-risk with the proposed cuts.

CTF also provides an after-school and summer program, called 21st Century Kids. They served 209 children during the school year. The additional 61 kids who attended during the summer need academic support to avoid “summer slide” that occurs when children have a long break from learning. The children benefit from one-on-one tutors, homework helpers, and educational activities, they are provided with a snack (and lunch during the summer), and families are given the option of having their kids bussed home. Working parents and guardians are able to work more hours with the security that their children are well cared for and engaged in healthy, instructive activities.

The Children’s Task Force is well-deserving of the funding they receive from our county. They are careful with how they use it, and stretch dollars. CTF invests in effective programming, while hiring part-time employees who live in and serve our community. The part-time staff of 35 people consists of 26 Franklin Co. residents, and 9 UMF students. Our undesignated county dollars are needed to provide funding for operating the clothing exchange, the after-school and summer program, and incidental costs (like lice treatments, and other essentials for struggling and displaced families). Not one cent is used for executive and administrative salaries, those salaries are covered with designated funds from state and federal grants. CTF’s specialists are required by law to have advanced degrees, clinical certifications, and continuing education credits. Funds the state and federal government provide for those positions are non-discretionary, meaning they cannot be used for anything but salaries for professionals who have met specific qualifications. For the record, all of the 13 full-time employees at CTF live in the county: 8 in Farmington, 2 in Wilton, and 1 each in Jay, Phillips, and Starks. These are our neighbors and friends, and they pay taxes, keep up their properties and shop at county businesses—they are contributing to our economy and our quality of life here in Franklin County.

County funding is also critical for another reason: to pull in additional programming grants and donations from outside sources. It’s too late for these organizations to appeal to individual towns to make up for these cuts—the towns have already passed their budgets for next year. These groups must be able to demonstrate that we as a community—the entire county they serve—have some ‘skin-in-the-game’ and contribute financially, in order to appeal to those sources and receive money. If these cuts are made ALL of these organizations will lose other sources of funding, not just the county dollars. They won’t have the show of local support needed to leverage those grants and donations, and we will suffer greatly as a county. This has been a county responsibility for years—it’s efficient governance. These programs don’t just serve the people of Wilton, or Farmington, they serve all of Franklin County.

We have a valuable resource in CTF and its staff. Their support is crucial in maintaining stability and security in our county—as are the other programs being threatened. When folks feel cared for by their community, when they have knowledgeable people they can go to for guidance and help, they can be productive and are much less likely to resort to drugs or violence. Investing in these organizations saves us money in the long-run, through decreased calls for our first responders and fewer incarcerations. An ounce of prevention now is much cheaper than paying for a pound of treatment later—it’s clear, just look at the size of the jail budget being discussed.

What good does it do for someone to get a tax decrease of only a couple dollars if they lose access to heating assistance, or home care after an illness or injury, or meals from Seniors Plus? What will those folks do when they’ve lost transportation services to pick up medicines or food? How is it fiscally conservative—and how many first responder lives will we risk—when the number of families suffering fires, domestic violence, and sexual assault increase… all because WMCA and SAPARS funds are slashed? How does it help low-income workers to cut Adult Basic Ed funding for computer and certification programs that give them skills to re-enter the job market at decent wages? How many jobs will we lose when our Development Corporation can’t assist businesses with relocation or expansion in Franklin County? When they aren’t there to provide networking, or guidance for financing? How many farmers and others will be affected when Soil & Water programming and technical assistance is gone? How many local contractors will lose income when WMCA’s weatherization program goes unfunded?

Cuts to these programs amount to tiny reductions for the majority of us. It will mostly benefit a handful of residents with large property assessments—not average folks or those most in need of these services—and our economy will suffer.

Thank you for your time and further consideration on providing these funds, it’s important to our county.

Gwen Doak
Wilton

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6 Comments

  1. Gwen’s comments presented to the county budget committee this week were powerful and inspiring, especially since they were spoken by a humble and hard-working young mother, wife of a disabled veteran and a person who has bravely stepped forward to tell her story and who spoke , with her hand shaking as she read her testimony and with her young child strapped on her back for the entire 2 1/2 hour hearing.

    Yes, some people have a strong belief that helping the less fortunate with care, food, jobs, programs for children and families, support if they are sexually assaulted and education on how to report it and avoid it, assistance at home if they are elderly or disabled, transportation to medical appointments — is not the job of government.

    That people who want to should donate to these groups on their own. But the idea of these organizations, that use these funds to leverage thousands of dollars in state, federal and foundation grants that are already under threat, could raise $10,000 to $20,000 directly from our low-income, rural communities — well, it is not going to happen. Next year, these groups, given insufficient warning of the cuts, will be coming back to the towns. Historically, it is the larger towns who do so with most small towns voting zero..

    There is the belief that if someone needs help, or are poor or sick or unemployed, it is their fault when it is really the economy, and they need to find help elsewhere. Religious teachings tell us the way a community cares for its children and those less fortunate is a mark of its strength and compassion.

    Budget committee members /selectmen: please do not rubber stamp two of the three commissioners’ hard line on social service and economic development spending but search for the right path in your own heart. It is estimated the $142,000 being cut will amount to just over $ 4 per $100,000 of property valuation.

  2. The letter by Gwen Doak explains a lot. But some information is still needed. First, RSU9, namely the superintendent in several instances in news articles has said that children come to school, get off the bus, and enter the building not being bathed, poorly dressed, and hungry. Not a few. Not in one school. But many and district wide. What is the CTF doing, as I believed this was one of its’ tasks? Is it true that CTF and RSU9 recently got a $1.5 million grant? How much of this grant goes for administration? IN DOLLARS? Where does the rest go? Is a summer play/rec program getting some of it? What about other grants? AND still the county taxpayer has to kick in? Who does administrate the CTF? THANKS

  3. Buckshot,
    Are you suggesting that the Task Force’s job is to go into every home and make sure kids are bathed before they to school?
    nancy

  4. No, Nancy of course not unless invited. What I would like answered is why RSU9 AND THE CHILDREN’S TASK FORCE aren’t working together on the supposed reason kids aren’t learning. That reason stated as the kids come to school without being bathed, properly clothed, and properly nourished, which the school takes upon itself to do before any learning starts! Next ,I should like an accounting on where the $1,500,000 grant money goes. The part of it that goes for administration would be especially interesting! AND where is the rest put to use. Educational programs? Play/rec programs? Nutritional services? I wonder if this information will surface, as it would answer questions and solve some problems. AN audit? ONE thing is for sure in this community, everyone blames someone else for its problems and keeps on asking for more and more money to solve THE PROBLEM. It is approaching the time when there just won’t be enough money to hand out to all the groups and programs that reach for it. Maybe that time is here now, for a good many of our neighbors are leaving and those staying pinch pennies to survive!!!

  5. If children are sent to school unbathed, unclothed and hungry the principal should report the parents for child abuse…

  6. Thank you voicing your feelings Mrs. Doak. Your support of the Task Force is obviously because they have helped your family, and hundreds of others. They really do important work. My family has used some of the programming in the past. It was all funded programs.

    However, I would like to offer another perspective, as I have already stated that I was not in support of the county providing money to not-for-profit organizations.

    Most of what they do is done with State, Federal, grant money, money from towns, and the United Way money: The parenting classes, the after school programs, home visitors, 21st Century program, and salaries, including a hefty salary for the director, I wonder how much you think she should get paid and what she really gets paid? If you are curious you can find out. I encourage you to do it.

    It’s very easy to say what they are doing for how many people, how many people used the clothing exchange hiw many homes had hime visitor visitors etc. But saying these programs are keeping people out of jail, people will lose their jobs and kids won’t learnas much needs data to back up those claims.

    Most of the families that get to use the services help do not live in Northern Franklin County. The clothing exchange is taken care of by the staff or volunteers, plus the only ones who can use it are the people with reliable transportation.

    You have a lot of figures that (probably) you got from CTF, but did you happen to ask what specifically would be cut if
    they didn’t get the small potatoes from the county? That would have made a bigger impact on me. Maybe it will be the boss’s salary?

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