Joan Phaup Melissa Bellew. (Photo courtesy Camden Rotary Club) Penobscot Bay CEO Melissa Bellew characterized safe, affordable childcare as an essential component of workforce development during a recent Camden Rotary Club meeting. Bellew’s talk highlighting childcare gaps and potential solutions was the ninth in a series on local economic and workforce development challenges. The monthly series covers topics such as demographics, vocational training, attainable housing, and workforce skills gaps. It is designed to generate collaboration among leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to improve the region’s economic vitality. Bellew addressed the widening needs for childcare across Maine, including the Midcoast, as crucial for working families. This childcare includes preschools for infants children up to school age, before- and after-care at school sites, and summer programs for school-age children.