Maine, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.
State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.
Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.
Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining
Approximately 32 percent (37,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 34 percent (39,000) in 2016.1
Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High
Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Growing
Maine’s governor signed the state’s current services budget for fiscal 2026-2027 into law in March of 2025 to ensure continued operations of state government, providing for $11.3 billion in general fund spending. She called the legislature back into session to consider further budget investments, and subsequently, the governor signed an additional budget bill into law on June 23. According to a legislative staff summary, the biennial budget, after amendments, provides for general fund appropriations of $11.64 billion total, including $5.80 billion in fiscal 2026 and $5.84 billion in fiscal 2027. This represents annual increases of 5.2 percent for fiscal 2026 and 0.8 percent for fiscal 2027. The budget is based on undedicated revenue projections of $5.61 billion in fiscal 2026 (a 0.0 percent growth rate from fiscal 2025 estimated revenues) and $5.77 billion in fiscal 2027 (a 3.0 percent annual increase). After other adjustments and transfers, total projected resources are estimated at $5.74 billion in fiscal 2026 and $5.75 billion in fiscal 2027. The biennial budget estimates a beginning general fund balance of $157 million, and ending balances of $100 million at the end of fiscal 2026 and $7 million at the end of fiscal 2027.3
Largest Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):4
State Budget Rules:4
Maine uses a biennial budget. The legislature is not required to pass a balanced budget, nor is the governor required to sign one, and deficits may be carried over into the following year. However, the state has budget rules that require lawmakers to balance revenues and expenditures. Maine also limits spending growth with a formula based on personal income and population growth. However, the legislature can override the limit with a simple majority vote. The state also limits total authorized debt and debt service incurred by the state.
The Fund for a Healthy Maine, the state’s tobacco settlement fund, has supported early childhood programming over the past twenty years (Home Visiting, Child Care, and Head Start). The ECE funding is now limited to a $1 million to fund Head Start. The Fund for a Healthy Maine program has been increasingly utilized by the last two governors to fund the state’s investment in Medicaid/MaineCare as opposed to health and prevention programs.
Political Alignment:6 Aligned Democrat
During the legislative session, the state’s Senate and House were both Democrat controlled. The state’s governor was also a Democrat.
Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:7 Five
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:8
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:9
Legislation was enacted to require the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to initiate a rate determination process to provide coverage for doula services under Maine’s Medicaid program by January 1, 2028. The The law also requires the creation of a Doula Council to make recommendations to the Department regarding the rate setting. The Department is required to report to the Joint Select Committee on Health and Human Services on the status of the Doula coverage under MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) no later than February of 2027.
A passed bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child and Family Services to enter into direct contracts with providers of child care to provide child care slots for children under 3 years of age, children with disabilities and children in underserved geographic areas was passed in June of 2025. The law authorizes the office to use direct contracts to provide child care slots for other categories of children based on priorities identified by the office. LD 1736, An Act to Increase the Supply of Child Care Services Through the Use of Contracts, supports an important child care policy that provides stability to child care providers, can increase the quality of care for low-income children, and can improve access to child care for particular populations of children.
A provision in the state budget builds on Maine’s Child and Dependent Tax Credit by doubling the dependent exemption tax credit for a child or dependent who has not attained 6 years of age by the end of the tax year. The bipartisan bill also phases out the refundability of the tax credit based on income.
New legislation requires that a child care facility or a family child care provider is a permitted use in a municipal area that is zoned for residential purposes, subject to the same requirements for other residential property.
Maine’s state budget provided an additional $1 million dollars to support the transition of the state’s preschool special education services as they transition from the state’s Child Development Services system to local school districts.
LD 865 expands the location for the delivery of lactation services by requiring the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to provide reimbursement under Medicaid/MaineCare for lactation services provided in a hospital, clinic, office, community or in the home for a child eligible for coverage. Lactation services may be provided by a licensed health care professional or by a consultant or counselor who is certified by a national organization that provides a national certification program in lactation consulting or lactation counseling and is approved by the department.
LD 1406 modifies the language in Maine’s child protection statute to better differentiate between family circumstances due to poverty and family circumstnaces which are abusive or neglectful.
In addition, advocates had to pivot to defense when the governor’s proposed budget included two harmful recommendations. The first was to eliminate $30 million from Maine’s Child Care Educator Salary Supplement Program ($15 million in FY 25-26 and FY 26-27). The program provides a monthly stipend to educators. The governor’s proposed $30-million cut to child care educator wages was a direct threat to the economic stability of educators. The proposal would have eliminated 50 percent of the funding for the program. The second proposal was for cuts of $7.2 million ($3.6 in each year) to the state’s Head Start programs. Eliminating this state funding would have put 180 children at serious risk of losing access to vital early education programming, as well as the wraparound resources that support their overall well-being.
Advocates organized significant push back from the early childhood community, which culminated in hundreds of educators and parents protesting the cuts at the State House. The governor’s proposals were rejected in the legislature’s “continuing services” budget in March and again in the final budget document passed in June.
Our lead ally in Maine, the Maine Children’s Alliance (MCA), advocates for sound public policies and best practices that improve the lives of all Maine children, youth, and families. They collaborate with partners and provide policymakers with comprehensive data and information about the status and well-being of Maine’s children.
Maine Children’s Alliance is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:
Child Care
Child Care Workforce
Early Intervention (Age 0-3)
Family Economic Security
Child Welfare
Early Childhood Governance
Click here for more information on advocates’ policy agenda.
Though the Trump administration has recently been sending signals that they intend to do away with the rule entirely, state advocates report the CCDF Rule has sparked many of the recent positive changes in child care policy across the country.
NOTES:
1 Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.
2 National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 through 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, October 2024, NCCP analysis of ACS 5-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2018-2022.
3 National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2026.
4 Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, April 2025.
5 Alliance for Early Success, State Examples of Dedicated Funding Streams, 2025
6 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2025 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, January 31, 2025.
7 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, 2025.
8 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.
9 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2025.
