November 16, 2022
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services today published a comprehensive compilation of child care providers in the state that received nearly $74 million in COVID-19 Child Care Stabilization Grants, which helped Maine child care providers increase pay for staff and cover costs related to COVID-19.
The grants, awarded from October 2021 to October 2022, totaled $73.8 million and supported child care providers in every Maine county, including compensation for 7,474 staff. A new visualization published today by the DHHS Office of Child and Family Services provides a full list of recipients with award amounts, the number of payments, and the number of staff supported that is searchable by county and provider type – this includes providers that participate in the Child Care Subsidy Program who are exempt from licensing due to the limited number of children served.
The Stabilization grants are part of Governor Mills’ unprecedented investments to expand the availability of affordable, high-quality child care for Maine’s working families, which totals more than $100 million since March 2020. As previously announced, DHHS is distributing $13.6 million to help eligible child care providers continue to cover a variety of costs related to COVID-19 and recovery as the stabilization grants conclude. That’s in addition to nearly $5.5 million announced last month for current and new Maine child care providers, and builds on permanent, monthly salary supplements for child care workers and a $15 million investment from the Governor’s Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to support the construction and expansion of child care programs.
These investments, made in line with OCFS’ Child Care Plan for Maine, have helped child care providers to maintain and build capacity despite the challenges related to the pandemic.