Maine Senate gives its initial support to Sen. Ingwersen bill to make child care more affordable

AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, March 3, the Maine Senate gave its initial support to a bill from Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel. LD 1728, amended to be titled “An Act to Improve the Affordability, Stability and Access in the Child Care Affordability Program,” seeks to invest in and strengthen Maine’s essential child care system. 

“For me, access to affordable child care is deeply personal,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “All of my own children are adults, and they have children of their own now. Like many Mainers, they are working hard to keep up with their bills, go to work and start or raise their families. With this bill, we can adopt the federal rules that make the program effective and successful, providing real financial relief for parents.” 

The Child Care Affordability Program (CCAP) helps eligible families in Maine afford child care by paying for a portion of tuition, while families are responsible for a co-payment.

LD 1728 would reduce the payments made by certain families participating in CCAP by changing the cap on copayments from 10% to 7%, in alignment with federal child care subsidy rules.

The bill would allow the Health and Human Services Department to further reduce or waive these copayments 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 copayment 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.

Along with Sen. Ingwersen’s LD 2066, “An Act to Establish the Child Care Employment Award,” which was also advanced by the Maine Senate, LD 1728 would offer comprehensive financial support to make child care more affordable for Maine families.

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

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