An Act To Improve Access to High-quality Child Care by Increasing Child Care Rates
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0566
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: KATZ, POULIOT, LANGLEY, MILLETT, FREY, HAMANN, PARKER
Amends: 22 MRSA §3737, 22 MRSA §3762

Legislative Document
No. 566
S.P. 184
In Senate, February 14, 2017
An Act To Improve Access to High-quality Child Care by Increasing 
Child Care Rates
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator KATZ of Kennebec.
Cosponsored by Representative POULIOT of Augusta and
Senators: LANGLEY of Hancock, MILLETT of Cumberland, Representatives: FREY of 
Bangor, HAMANN of South Portland, McCREIGHT of Harpswell, PARKER of South 
Berwick.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §3737, sub-§4 is enacted to read: 
4.  Minimum rates.  Beginning October 1, 2017, the department shall establish rates 
for child care that are at least equal to the 75th percentile of local market rates for various 
categories of child care and higher rates for children with special needs. 
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. RRRR, 
§2, is further amended to read: 
B.  The department may use funds, insofar as resources permit, provided under and in 
accordance with the United States Social Security Act or state funds appropriated for 
this purpose or a combination of state and federal funds to provide assistance to 
families under this chapter.  In addition to assistance for families described in this 
subsection, funds must be expended for the following purposes: 
(1)  To continue the pass-through of the first $50 per month of current child 
support collections and the exclusion of the $50 pass-through from the budget 
tests and benefit calculations; 
(2)  To provide financial assistance to noncitizens legally admitted to the United 
States who are receiving assistance under this subsection as of July 1, 2011.  
Recipients of assistance under this subparagraph are limited to the categories of 
noncitizens who would be eligible for the TANF programs but for their status as 
aliens under PRWORA.  Eligibility for the TANF program for these categories of 
noncitizens must be determined using the criteria applicable to other recipients of 
assistance from the TANF program. Any household receiving assistance as of  
July 1, 2011 may continue to receive assistance, as long as that household 
remains eligible, without regard to interruptions in coverage or gaps in eligibility 
for service. A noncitizen legally admitted to the United States who is neither 
receiving assistance on July 1, 2011 nor has an application pending for assistance 
on July 1, 2011 that is later approved is not eligible for financial assistance 
through a state-funded program unless that noncitizen is: 
(a)  Elderly or disabled, as described under the laws governing supplemental 
security income in 42 United States Code, Sections 1381 to 1383f (2010); 
(b)  A victim of domestic violence;  
(c)  Experiencing other hardship, such as time necessary to obtain proper 
work documentation, as defined by the department by rule. Rules adopted by 
the department under this division are routine technical rules as defined by 
Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; or 
(d)  Unemployed but has obtained proper work documentation, as defined by 
the department by rule.  Rules adopted by the department under this division 
are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; 
(3) To provide benefits to certain 2-parent families whose deprivation is based on 
physical or mental incapacity; 
(4)  To provide an assistance program for needy children, 19 to 21 years of age, 
who are in full-time attendance in secondary school.  The program is operated for 
those individuals who qualify for TANF under the United States Social Security 
Act, except that they fail to meet the age requirement, and is also operated for the 
parent or caretaker relative of those individuals.  Except for the age requirement, 
all provisions of TANF, including the standard of need and the amount of 
assistance, apply to the program established pursuant to this subparagraph; 
(5)  To provide assistance for a pregnant woman who is otherwise eligible for 
assistance under this chapter, except that she has no dependents under 19 years of 
age.  An individual is eligible for the monthly benefit for one eligible person if 
the medically substantiated expected date of the birth of her child is not more 
than 90 days following the date the benefit is received; 
(6)  To provide a special housing allowance for TANF families whose shelter 
expenses for rent, mortgage or similar payments, homeowners insurance and 
property taxes equal or exceed 75% of their monthly income.  The special 
housing allowance is limited to $200 per month for each family.  For purposes of 
this subparagraph, "monthly income" means the total of the TANF monthly 
benefit and all income countable under the TANF program, plus child support 
received by the family, excluding the $50 pass-through payment; 
(7)  In determining benefit levels for TANF recipients who have earnings from 
employment, the department shall disregard from monthly earnings the 
following: 
(a)  One hundred and eight dollars; 
(b)  Fifty percent of the remaining earnings that are less than the federal 
poverty level; and 
(c)  All actual child care costs necessary for work, except that the department 
may limit the child care disregard to $175 per month per child or $200 per 
month per child under 2 years of age or with special needs; 
(7-A)  In determining eligibility and benefit levels, the department may apply a 
gross income test only to applicants and not to recipients; 
(8)  In cases when the TANF recipient has no child care cost, the monthly TANF 
benefit is the maximum payment level or the difference between the countable 
earnings and the standard of need established by rule adopted by the department, 
whichever is lower; 
(9)  In cases when the TANF recipient has child care costs, the department shall 
determine a total benefit package, including TANF cash assistance, determined in 
accordance with subparagraph (7) and additional child care assistance, as 
provided by rule, necessary to cover the TANF recipient's actual child care costs 
up to the maximum amount specified in section 3782-A, subsection 5.  The 
benefit amount must be paid as provided in this subparagraph. 
(a)  Before the first month in which child care assistance is available to an 
ASPIRE-TANF recipient under this paragraph and periodically thereafter, the 
department shall notify the recipient of the total benefit package and the 
following options of the recipient: to receive the total benefit package 
directly; or to have the department pay the recipient's child care assistance 
directly to the designated child care provider for the recipient and pay the 
balance of the total benefit package to the recipient. 
(b)  If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient notifies the department that the recipient 
chooses to receive the child care assistance directly, the department shall pay 
the total benefit package to the recipient. 
(c)  If an ASPIRE-TANF recipient does not respond or notifies the 
department of the choice to have the child care assistance paid directly to the 
child care provider from the total benefit package, the department shall pay 
the child care assistance directly to the designated child care provider for the 
recipient.  The department shall pay the balance of the total benefit package 
to the recipient; 
(10)  Child care assistance under this paragraph must be paid by the department 
in a prompt manner that permits an ASPIRE-TANF recipient to access child care 
necessary for work; and 
(11)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375 to 
implement this subsection.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subparagraph are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.; and 
(12)  Beginning October 1, 2017, the department shall establish rates for child 
care that are at least equal to the 75th percentile of local market rates for various 
categories of child care and higher rates for children with special needs. 
Sec. 3.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) 
Additional Support for People in Retraining and Employment 0146 
Initiative: Allocates funds to set the reimbursement rate for child care services at the 75th 
percentile of local market rates. 
Child Care Services 0563 
Initiative: Allocates funds to set the reimbursement rate for child care services at the 75th 
percentile of local market rates. 
FEDERAL BLOCK GRANT FUND 
2017-18
2018-19
All Other 
$3,000,000
$3,000,000
FEDERAL BLOCK GRANT FUND TOTAL 
$3,000,000
$3,000,000
SUMMARY 
This bill sets the reimbursement rates for child care services under the federal Child 
Care and Development Block Grant program and the Additional Support for People in 
Retraining and Employment, or ASPIRE, program at the federally recommended rate of 
the 75th percentile of local market rates. It also allocates federal funding for the increase 
to the block grant and ASPIRE programs. 
FEDERAL BLOCK GRANT FUND 
2017-18
2018-19
All Other 
$3,000,000
$3,000,000
FEDERAL BLOCK GRANT FUND TOTAL 
$3,000,000
$3,000,000
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 
DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
2017-18
2018-19
FEDERAL BLOCK GRANT FUND 
$6,000,000
$6,000,000
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS 
$6,000,000
$6,000,000