WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Maine Senate President Troy Jackson attended a child care summit at the White House on Wednesday to collaborate on ways to increase access, affordability, and wages for staff.
Jackson was one of nearly 100 state legislators and leaders at the event to highlight successful efforts in state legislatures. President Jackson participated in a panel alongside California State Senator Nancy Skinner to discuss strategies to build support for and secure historic state investments in child care.
Earlier this month, the Maine Legislature passed a bipartisan budget that includes a $60 million initiative from Senate President Jackson to invest in child care.
Child care workers in Maine have been receiving $200 per month stipends, which the new law doubles to $400 per month. The goal is to increase recruitment and retention of staff, so they can offer more slots to families needing child care services.
"It's heartbreaking to hear that people who are having to say, 'I want to be with the kids, and I care about the kids, and I can do good work with the kids, but I can't afford to live, to pay rent, to buy groceries, given the wage that I have,'" Hannah Marshall, program director for Windham-Raymond School-Aged Child Care, said. "Hiring has gotten better in the last several months, but it is definitely still a challenge."
Staff from Senator Jackson's office said, in Maine, stagnant wages are driving child care workers from the industry. As a result, most child care providers are operating below capacity due to the lack of staff. According to a report from ReadyNation, the current gap between licensed capacity and enrollment across the state is 9,422.
Heather Marden, co-executive director of Maine's Association for the Education of Young Children, said the system requires a delicate balance of funding, understanding that paying for child care monthly costs almost as much as a mortgage.
"Families are what is paying the wages of these educators," Marden said. "That's the broken model in the child care market right now: we can't ask families to pay more, but we can't ask educators to pay less."
The new law in the budget also expands eligibility for people seeking financial help paying for child care through the state's subsidy program. Child care workers who also need care for their kids, are also eligible.
It expands eligibility for the program from 85 to 125 percent of the state’s median income as of Jan. 1, 2024. Marshall said roughly 20 to 25 percent of her families rely on that subsidy program.
Jackson said child care is a crucial element in getting more people to work. Parents who can afford to pay for child care, or who can find a spot, are then available to join the workforce. He said some states with larger populations are spending in the multi-billions of dollars.
"Businesses across the state of Maine understand that they need to have childcare so that more people can get in the workforce, which, as you know, we're sorely lacking," Jackson said.
"The parents are currently out of work, they're staying home, they're caring for their kids because the parent doesn't make enough to compensate for the cost of care," Marshall said.
In Maine, 70 percent of all Maine children under the age of six live in families with all available parents in the workforce. These families are likely to need access to quality, affordable child care. More than one in five Maine children live in what’s considered a child care desert. The number is higher in rural parts of the state. This means for every three kids in need of child care, there’s only one available slot.
Marshall said she hopes to soon expand the SACC to include a birth to age 5 program.