Child care workers gathered at the State House Tuesday morning to protest tens of million dollars worth of cuts that were included in the proposed biennial budget.
To allow workers to participate in Tuesday’s protest, a number of child care centers throughout the state were closed or only open for part of the day.
According to a Portland Press Herald report, as many as 200 workers from at least 15 child care centers throughout the state were expected at the State House as of Monday evening.
Concerns primarily centered around the $30 million worth of proposed cuts to the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement System.
This program, first launched in 2021, provides a monthly stipend to workers in the child care industry. In the beginning, this benefit was valued at $200 per month and was funded using federal pandemic assistance.
The Salary Supplement program continued to be funded into 2022, with benefits being increased to between $275 and $625 — depending the caregiver’s education and experience — in early 2024.
Due to high demand on the program, lawmakers quickly reduced the benefit amount over the summer to between $240 to $540.
Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) proposed biennial budget now recommends reducing funding to 2022 levels in an effort to address the state’s budget shortfalls.
In an overview of the proposed cuts shared by the governor’s office, the Mills administration argued that this reduction would save the state about $30 million over the course of the next biennium.
Lindsay Hammes, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), told the Portland Press Herald that Gov. Mills has had concerns over the program’s sustainability since the Legislature opted to drastically increase stipend amounts.
“At the time, the administration expressed concern over the changes – namely that the Legislature would be raising the expectations for family and child care workers that, financially, the state would not be able to sustain, which has proven to be true,” Hammes reportedly said in an email.
“The Governor does not like having to propose these changes,” she continued. “As the parent to five stepdaughters, she recognizes the value of child care, both for children and their parents, and her administration has worked hard to expand access to child care by delivering grants through her Jobs Plan to build out more child care centers.”
“Unfortunately, in a tough budget cycle, tough decisions have to be made and we believe it is important to return the program to a sustainable level of spending, as we initially had, so that we can continue it far into the future,” Hammes concluded.
In an interview with the Maine Wire, Charlotte Jacobs — Program Director at Seedlings to Sunflowers — expressed concerns over the potential impacts of these cuts.
“This $30 million cut will force 50 percent of my staff to leave the field,” Jacobs said. “50 percent of my staff leaving the field means that I will have to close my doors.”
“The salaries that we are currently being given have been so helpful, but we’re still all barely making ends meet,” she said. “Rather than cutting, we should be increasing these programs because its proved through the process of these programs that we’ve retained staff, we’ve attracted people to this field, and I just think that continuing these unique benefits to a unique field is crucial.”
“I know that most of our directors and child care staff that are here today feel the exact same way,” said Jacobs. “We’re a field that’s constantly undervalued, underpaid, and not respected to the point we should be.”
“It will force 50% of my staff to leave the field.”
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) March 5, 2025
The Maine Wire spoke with a child care worker protesting Governor Mills’ proposed $30 million in cuts from the Child Care Salary Supplement Program. pic.twitter.com/ZnrwHRLp7n
For the upcoming 2026-2027 budget cycle, Maine is facing a $450 million “structural deficit,” where spending is projected to far outpace revenue unless changes are made.
Mills has also suggested eliminating a more recent $2.5 million program that covers child care tuition for people who work in the industry.
She described this initiative, launched as a two-year pilot program, as “mostly duplicative” because those enrolled in the program generally already qualified for financial assistance through Maine’s Child Care Affordability Program.
It is further recommended in the budget that Maine reduce its supplemental funding for Head Start, a program that is funded exclusively by federal dollars in most states.
As currently written, the additional $3.6 million in state funding approved by legislators in FY24 would be eliminated, returning funding to the previous level of $1.4 million annually.
Click Here to Read Gov. Mills’ Full Explanation of the Proposed DHHS Cuts
Although Maine’s governor is able to put forward a proposed budget and accompanying legislation, it is ultimately up to the State Legislature to finalize and approve a plan.
Lawmakers are currently making their way through the nearly 130 pages worth of recommendations introduced by Mills. Most of the work on these proposals is completed by lawmakers in the Appropriations Committee and other policy-specific committees as necessary.
This process culminates in a series of votes by the full House and Senate where additional amendments may or may not be introduced on the floor to finalize the legislation.
Legislators will continue to work through these and other proposals in the coming weeks and months.
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