The State of Child Care in Maine

mainechildrensalliance • August 15, 2019
Child care
1
Why child care is important
2
How many children need child care
54,000 children under age 6 who need child care in Maine.
3
How rural child care is different
4
There’s a shortage of high-quality programs available to families
just 57 percent of Maine child care providers are even enrolled in the system
The number of center-based sites has held steady, while the number of family-based child cares has decreased
The percent of children under age six with all parents in the workforce in Maine rose from 67 percent to 73 percent between 2015-2017
Child care is a major expense for families
5
It takes between 11% to 22% of a typical family’s income to pay for full-time childcare.
6
99 percent of low-income Maine families pay more than the federal benchmark for full-time child care
7
Limitations of the Maine Child Care Tax Credit
it is only worth 25 percent of the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
Child Care subsidies help but not everyone gets them
8
More state investment is needed in Child Care Subsidies
Maine’s invest­ment was only $6.81 million, representing 28 percent of the total expenditure.
10
For citations and additional graphs, you can review the entire State of Child Care in Maine snapshot on our website, www.mekids.org  
A pie chart showing the percentage of people in person and online.
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http://www.mekids.org/nomination-form.php
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the American Health Care Act
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