The State of Child Care in Maine

mainechildrensalliance • August 15, 2019
Child care
1
A woman in a purple shirt is holding a baby in her arms
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
A graph showing the total capacity is up 2% while family child care capacity is down 3%.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
A graph showing the average monthly number of children served with ccdf subsidies in maineChild 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  

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