Let’s hear it for Messrs. Michael Brennan (“A lot done for education in Maine; a lot more to do“) and Sen. Tim Nangle (“We cannot fail the children of Maine any longer“) for their excellent and timely opinions in the Oct. 8 Press Herald, both addressing the immediate need for qualified and proper child care.

I’d previously written that many children were going without school lunch due to their lack of money. We are overly concerned these days with other more topical issues, politics, climate change, abortion, foreign matters, etc., too often at the expense of providing safe and adequate care for the children of Maine.

Displaced children should not have to worry about their safety when being placed, especially under the auspices of DHHS, in a home, hospital, care center or other safe haven.

Certainly, the state has enough paid overseers to guide these children to a protected environment at a home or proper facility. If this safety cannot be guaranteed in a domestic scene, investigations should be made immediately, before the child is disabled or killed due to home violence or otherwise. The paper has certainly done a thorough job covering the killing and mistreatment of children, often in their own homes.

We all need to be vigilant: teachers, neighbors, police, retailers, and primarily the DHHS. We cannot be shy about reporting any suspicious problem and to make contact with the authorities immediately. Remember, these children are our future leaders. I am saying protect their young, impressionable, innocent lives, for they trust us.

Frank Reilly
Portland