Sen. Ingwersen, Pres. Daughtry attend bill signing for new child care law at St. Louis Child Development Center in Biddeford
BIDDEFORD — On Monday, March 23, Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel, and Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, visited St. Louis Child Development Center in Biddeford for a bill signing of LD 1728, “An Act to Improve Affordability, Stability and Access in the Maine Child Care Affordability Program.” The new law will 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%, maximizing financial assistance available to Maine families.
“Today, we came full circle from last fall when I met with child care workers in Biddeford to understand what more the State could do to support this essential industry,” said Sen. Ingwersen. “Since then, my colleagues and I have responded to their feedback and worked on several bills to make child care more affordable for Mainers. My bill is one of the first from this legislative session to be signed into law, so it only seems right that we celebrate it here. I look forward to continuing this work — and to seeing the results after it takes effect. We simply cannot expect to support families in the district if they can’t afford child care.”
Photo Caption: Gov. Janet T. Mills signs Sen. Ingwersen’s child care bill, LD 1728, into law while Pres. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick; Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel; and St. Louis Child Development Center Program Director Bill Hager look on. Last summer and fall, Sen. Ingwersen and Pres. Daughtry met with Hager and staff at the center as part of a Statewide Child Care Listening Tour.
Sen. Ingwersen has worked on several child care-related bills in the 132nd Legislature. In addition to LD 1728, he sponsored LD 1859, “An Act to Improve Access to Child Care and Early Childhood Education by Establishing Regional Resource Hubs,” which seeks to establish, through contracts with community entities, early childhood learning and development resource hubs. Last year, it received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Maine Senate. It now awaits funding.
A separate bill, LD 2066, “An Act to Establish the Child Care Employment Award,” proposes to 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 bill is also awaiting funding.
In 2025, Pres. Daughtry conducted a Statewide Child Care Listening Tour that included stops at community child care centers, public pre-K partnerships, Head Start programs and non-profit organizations across the state. It shone a spotlight on innovative solutions, identified gaps in service and elevated the voices of those most impacted by Maine’s child care crisis. Parents, businesses and early educators were also invited to complete a survey to share their experiences. The insights gathered have helped inform future legislation and policy aimed at expanding access to high-quality, affordable child care for all Maine families.
Sen. Henry Ingwersen is serving his second term in the Maine Senate. He is the Senate chair of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, and he is a member of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee. He represents Senate District 32, which includes Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Hollis and Lyman.
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