Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), Rising Stars for ME

Rising Stars for ME logoMaine’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), Rising Stars for ME, is a rating system designed to:

  • Increase awareness of the basic Standards of Early Care and Education.
  • Recognize and support Early Care and Education Programs (Program) providing care above and beyond those Standards; and
  • Educate the community about the benefits of higher quality care. 

Rising Stars for ME is funded by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Block Grant Program and administered by Maine’s Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS).  Rising Stars for ME’s purpose is to recognize Programs that provide quality care, encourage Program Owners to increase their level of quality, and provide parents with identifiable Standards of quality.

Rising Stars for ME Standards

Facility Standards

Family Child Care Standards

Rising Stars for ME Rules

Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network Career Lattices

Maine’s Dependent Care State Tax Credit

A Maine taxpayer who enrolls a child in a child care center or home with a Quality Certificate is eligible for a double child care tax credit on their state income tax return. Currently an individual is allowed a credit against the tax otherwise due in the amount of 25% of the federal tax credit allowable for child and dependent care. In the new law, this credit doubles in amount if the child care expenses were incurred through the use of quality child care. The credit may result in a refund of up to $500.

The Maine Dependent Care State Tax Credit allows families to deduct the cost of eligible child care and dependent care from their state taxes. More information can be found on the Maine Revenue Services website.

Additional Resources