Committee approves Sen. Millett bill to increase funding for child care providers

AUGUSTA — Legislation from Sen. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, LD 1012, “An Act to Provide Stable Funding and Support for Child Care Providers,” received support from the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday. The bill would increase reimbursement rates for child care providers.

“Research is clear that high-quality child care with warm, responsive and skilled caregivers; healthy and safe environments; and connections to community supports help promote healthy development for infants and toddlers and creates a strong base for the future,” said Sen. Millett. “I’m pleased my colleagues have supported this important step toward helping our children have a strong foundation.”

Improvements in staff ratios, along with training and modest caregiver compensation initiatives, can produce considerable improvements in the quality of care. The strongest effects of quality child care are found with at-risk children – children from families with few resources and under great stress. At-risk infants and toddlers often receive poor quality child care that can diminishes their potential and leads to poor cognitive, social and emotional developmental outcomes.

Adequate funding will keep child care rates at levels needed to ensure that programs can provide high-quality infant and toddler care. This bill proposes incentives to improve the quality of child care by ensuring a higher rate of pay for those who accept infants. Using the current four-step child care quality rating system, rates will increase as the child care quality step increases.

The bill now faces votes before the Maine Senate and House.

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