Federal Update & End of Session Summary

We’ll start with the bad news first - Congress recently passed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, which includes billions of dollars in cuts to programs Mainers rely on, like Medicaid (MaineCare) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) . President Trump is expected to sign the Bill in the coming days. We are very worried about what this will mean for our rural hospitals, our low-income neighbors, and Maine’s health system at large. Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) did a great analysis on what to expect here.

The Maine Children’s Alliance hand-delivered copies of the 2024 KIDS COUNT Book to legislators, leadership, and government officials, providing them with the context and evidence they need to pursue policies that support children and families.
The Paid Family and Medical Leave program (PFML) emerged unscathed, despite plenty of efforts to weaken it. We were honored to join our friends at the PFML Coalition in leading the charge to defend this essential program for Maine’s working families. Mainers can officially take paid family and medical leave starting next year!
LD 577 , which guaranteed School Meals for All, was signed into law by the Governor, a major victory for addressing child hunger in our state. Special thanks to Full Plates Full Potential for their leadership on this important work!
MCA helped usher into law LD 1406 , which seeks to clarify that poverty is not the same thing as neglect. This is an important step towards ensuring children and families are not unnecessarily involved in the child welfare system when resources could otherwise be provided to mitigate safety concerns for children.
MCA helped protect funding for the Child Care Wage Supplement, the Child Care Employment Award, and Head Start, despite the Governor pushing for cuts to these programs. We are thrilled that the Legislature saw the importance of funding these programs, and is committed to addressing Maine’s child care crisis.
MCA worked with a broad, ad hoc coalition of partners to defend Maine’s current law, which was recently strengthened to ensure our youngest children were not being suspended or expelled from school, except for the most serious of safety issues. It is best practice - and best for kids - to receive support in school for behavioral challenges, instead of removing them from their learning environment.
All eight of the anti-trans bills were defeated. These debates were hard, and they were also inspiring. The results say loud and clear in Maine that trans rights are human rights, and that all kids deserve to play. We are grateful to all the legislators who voted against these measures and to the members of the LGBTQ+ Legislative Coalition, as well as the Maine Women's Lobby , who championed the work to oppose these harmful proposals.
MCA was proud to support the work of Mainers for Tax Fairness , which calls for un-rigging our tax code and making Maine’s wealthy residents pay their fair share. We remain hopeful as several of these proposals received support but instead of being funded, were carried over. These could represent important opportunities to fill gaps in federal funding in a future session. Check out our social media feature here!
MCA also supported other bills that unfortunately failed to pass or weren’t funded this year, including ones related to tribal sovereignty, expanding MaineCare coverage to include continuous eligibility for kids aged 0-6, doula services for parents, and more. This is not the end! We will continue to push for these bills in future legislative sessions.

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Maine College Students and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

By mainechildrensalliance • July 15, 2025

Maine’s college students – like students of all ages – had their learning disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. The impact on college enrollment in Maine reflects the trends nationally. Maine’s public university and community college systems have played a critical role in addressing the needs of students and American Rescue Act funds offer an opportunity for continued support to students to help them succeed in meeting their higher education goals.

By mainechildrensalliance • July 15, 2025

AUGUSTA, ME—On Tuesday the President released his blueprint for the federal budget , which if enacted, would be detrimental to Maine’s future and the health and well-being of our children, youth and families. The President’s proposals go back on the Federal Government’s long-held commitments to children in the areas of health, nutrition and education. These drastic cuts targeting programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will adversely affect child development in Maine and there will be serious consequences for years to come.

Legislative and Budget Wrap

By mainechildrensalliance • July 15, 2025

Through the Maine state budget, we can support solutions that respond to the needs of the moment and invest in building a more vibrant, equitable future for our children. an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and stabilize families who continue to face significant health and economic challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. They also provide an opportunity to invest in the long-term recovery of our state, by investing in the programs and services that support the needs of working families, who are raising the next generation of Mainers, and who are the backbone of our workforce and communities.