Maine Senate gives its initial support to Sen. Ingwersen bill to invest in Maine’s essential child care system
AUGUSTA — On Thursday, Feb. 26, the Maine Senate gave its initial support to a bill from Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel. LD 2066, “An Act to Establish the Child Care Employment Award,” would invest in Maine’s essential child care system. It seeks to build on a successful two-year pilot program, which has demonstrated effective coordination and strong uptake with existing State programs. At the same time, it revealed significant, remaining unmet need that the bill would help meet.
“This critical bill would make a successful pilot program a permanent source of support, along with the Child Care Affordability Program, for child care workers,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “Maine currently has a shortage of these much-needed professionals, and my bill would help recruit and retain them. It would also reduce the number of eligible children and families on the waitlist, while allowing the children of child care workers to receive care at the centers where they work. With this bill, we can take action to reduce the cost of child care for Maine families.”
Testifying in support of the bill, Bill Hager from Catholic Charities Maine, which operates St. Louis Child Development Center in Biddeford, commented: “Per the specific[s] of LD 2066, I can speak directly to the importance of this proposal. When this idea was introduced two years ago, it made a profound impact on our ability to hire and retain effective teachers for our programs. This, in turn, allowed us to open four additional classrooms, and (our programs alone) were able to nearly double our overall enrollment.”
As proposed, 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. 62% 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.
Recently, Kentucky adopted a similar program, ensuring that people who care for young children can access affordable child care themselves. Early outcomes show improved recruitment, higher retention and greater program stability.
The Maine Legislature first established the Child Care Employment Award in 2023.
LD 2066 now awaits further votes and funding from the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.