Health and Human Services Committee endorses Sen. Ingwersen bills to invest in Maine’s essential child care system

AUGUSTA — On Thursday, Jan. 29, the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee endorsed two bills from Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel, seeking to invest in and strengthen Maine’s essential child care system. 

“For this legislative session, child care remains a top priority for the Health and Human Services Committee — and for me,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “At this moment, we recognize that child care — the facilities, the programs and the workers — are essential infrastructure. Like bridges and roads, we need to invest in this infrastructure. Child care workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the state; yet, they have a critical role in taking care of children while their parents go to work. Without them, it would be nearly impossible for Mainers to start and raise families.” 

LD 1728, amended to be titled “An Act to Improve the Affordability, Stability and Access in the Child Care Affordability Program,” would put into Maine statute the federal child care subsidy rules that change the cap on co-payments for participants in the Child Care Affordability Program from 10% to 7%. It would allow the Health and Human Services Department to further reduce or waive these co-payments for families with a child with a disability, families experiencing homelessness and families with a foster child. The Department would have to post information related to co-payment amounts on its website. Finally, it would require the Department to issue subsidies based on enrollment, rather than attendance, encouraging more child care providers to participate in child subsidy programs without having to accept below-market rates for child care services. It received unanimous, bipartisan support from the Committee.

LD 2066, “An Act to Establish the Child Care Employment Award,” seeks to build on a successful two-year pilot program, which has demonstrated effective coordination with the Child Care Affordability Program. The Committee voted to make the Child Care Employment Award permanent. A minority of members voted for the program, but without the extra staff position to administer it.

The bill would make the Child Care Employment Award a permanent component of Maine’s child care subsidy system, along with the Child Care Affordability Program. As of September 2025, the program currently supports 511 Maine children from 313 working families. Without additional funding, 470 children from 312 families will remain on the waitlist. 

The Child Care Employment Award maximizes existing public investments in child care. Sixty-two percent of participating families are eligible for the Child Care Affordability Program and receive subsidies from it. The Child Care Employment Award covers the required co-payments, at an average of $114. Without the Child Care Employment Award, child care workers earning low wages would have to cover this cost out of their pockets.

In the coming weeks, LD 1728 and 2066 will face votes in the Senate and House.

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