Maine Senate approves Sen. Ingwersen bill to improve access to child care and early childhood education

AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, the Maine Senate, in initial votes, unanimously approved  LD 1859, “An Act to Improve Access to Child Care and Early Childhood Education by Establishing Regional Resource Hubs,” a bill sponsored by Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel. This legislation aims to address Maine’s child care crisis by creating a network of regional hubs to connect families, child care providers and employers.

“Every child in Maine deserves a strong start and this legislation is about delivering on that promise,” said Sen. Henry Ingwersen. “We must support families, child care providers, educators and businesses in building child care resource hubs so they can work together to solve their regional child care needs.”

Maine is one of only three states that does not have an established system of these types of regional supports for child care.

The resource hubs established by LD 1859 would provide families with much needed information and support in locating early childhood programs and other similar resources in the state. It would also support the training of child care workers to further improve the quality and accessibility of this care.

LD 1859 was also approved by the House by a vote of 73-69 this week. The bill now faces further votes in both chambers.