An Act To Increase Access to Quality Child Care
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1581
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: BERRY, CRAVEN, FARNSWORTH, GILLWAY, POULIOT, SANBORN, COLLINS, FLOOD, MILLETT, SAVIELLO
Amends: 22 MRSA §3737

Legislative Document 
No. 1581 
H.P. 1152 
House of Representatives, December 30, 2013 
An Act To Increase Access to Quality Child Care 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 23, 2013.  Referred to the Committee on 
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative BERRY of Bowdoinham. 
Cosponsored by Senator CRAVEN of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: FARNSWORTH of Portland, GILLWAY of Searsport, POULIOT of 
Augusta, SANBORN of Gorham, Senators: COLLINS of York, FLOOD of Kennebec, 
MILLETT of Cumberland, SAVIELLO of Franklin. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3737, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 394, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
3.  Quality differential.  To the extent permitted by federal law, the department shall 
pay a differential rate for child care services that meet or that make substantial progress 
toward meeting nationally recognized quality standards, such as those standards required 
by the Head Start program or required for accreditation by the National Association for 
the Education of Young Children, and shall do so from the Child Care Development Fund 
25% Quality Set-aside funds or by other acceptable federal practices.  The department 
shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 
are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A 2-A.  The 
rules must limit payment of the differential for substantial progress to a period of one 
year.  The rules must provide differential rates for substantial progress and must define 
substantial progress as: 
The rules must establish a 4-step child care quality rating system and must provide the 
following schedule of payments: 
A.  Having submitted program descriptions and awaiting a scheduled visit from an 
accrediting body approved by the department; or 
B.  For family child care, having submitted a portfolio for a child development 
associate and awaiting a scheduled observation.  
C.  A 5% quality differential rate for step 2 child care services; 
D.  A 10% quality differential rate for step 3 child care services; and 
E.  A 25% quality differential rate for step 4 child care services. 
Nothing in this subsection requires the department to pay a quality differential rate for 
child care services provided through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block 
grant. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a 4-step 
child care quality rating system and provide quality differential payments of 5%, 10% and 
25% for the 3 highest steps.  It removes language relating to requirements in the 
department rules regarding substantial progress toward meeting quality ratings.  It 
provides that the department is not required to pay a quality differential rate for child care 
services provided through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant.