An Act To Increase Reimbursement for Child Care Services
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0166
Committee Amendment CA_A_S407 (Senate)
Amends: 22 MRSA §3762

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 58, L.D. 166, Bill, "An Act To Increase 
Reimbursement for Child Care Services" 
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 4 in the 2nd line (page 1, line 4 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "at least equal" and inserting the following: 1!JQ1 
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 4 in the 4th line (page 1, line 6 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "must
and inserting the following: 1may1 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following: 
1Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §3762, sub-§3, ,re, as amended by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. 
NNNNNNN, §10 and c. 290, §1, 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 
3 
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 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 58, L.D. 166 
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 50% 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 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"A "to S.P. 58, L.D. 166 
( c) All actual child care costs necessary for work, except that the department 
may limit the child care disregard to $17 5 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; 
(7-B) In addition to the earned income disregards provided in subparagraph (7), 
a TANF recipient who enters employment must receive a one-time employment 
incentive payment of $400 if that T ANF recipient retains employment for the 
subsequent 4 months after entering employment, to be paid at the end of that 
4-month period. This subparagraph is repealed December 31, 2018; 
(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, paragraph 
;!:i. 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-T ANF 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.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to S.P. 58, L.D. 166 
Amend the bill in section 3 in paragraph E in the first and 2nd lines (page 3, lines 22 
and 23 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "at least equal" and inserting the following: 
11!121 
Amend the bill in section 3 in paragraph E in the 4th line (page 3, line 25 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: '1must
and inserting the following: 'may' 
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 5 in paragraph A in the first and 2nd lines 
(page 3, lines 32 and 33 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "at least egual1' and 
inserting the following: 1@' 
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 5 in paragraph A in the 4th line (page 3, line 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "must" and inserting the following: 'may1 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 5 the following: 
1Sec. 6. Increasing child care center rates with additional federal funding. 
Any increased federal funding received by the State from increases to discretionary 
spending for subsidized child care for low-income families in a child care and 
development block grant from the enactment of the federal Bipartisan Budget Act of 
2018, PL 115-123, and any subsequent funding legislation, must be used to increase 
reimbursement rates to child care centers up to the 75th percentile of local market rates 
for child care services. Payment rates for child care services for children with special 
needs may be higher than the 7 5th percentile of local market rates. 1 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, requires that any 
additional federal funding received in a child care and development block grant due to the 
passage of the federal Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, PL 115-123, and any subsequent 
funding legislation, must be applied to increasing reimbursement rates to child care 
centers up to the 75th percentile of local market rates for child care services. Payment 
rates for children with special needs may be higher. Family child care providers are 
already being reimbursed at the 75th percentile. This amendment increases rates to child 
care centers, according to the amount of increased discretionary funding received, up to 
the 75th percentile. 
FISCAL ~OTE REQUIRE]l 
(See attached)_ 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 03/15/18 feac 
LD 166 
LR 585(02) 
An Act To Increase Reimbursement for Child Care Services 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ''A'' cs;- YDl) 
Committee: Health and Human Services 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Contingent current biennium cost increase - Federal Block Grant Fund 
This bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to increase rates paid to child care centers up 
to the 75th percentile in the child care subsidy program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program 
(TANF) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Additional Support for People in Retraining and 
Employment Program (ASPIRE) contingent upon the Child Care and Development Block Grant discretionary funding 
being increased by federal legislation. The federal Bipartisan Budget Act, PL 115-123 increased federal discretionaiy 
spending to multiple programs. However, the actual programs that will receive the discretionaiy increases are not 
known at this time. When that information becomes known, the additional allocations to allow the rate increases will 
need to be made by financial order. 
Assuming that the discretionaiy funding allows for the increase in the rates to the 75th percentile, DHHS would 
require Federal Block Grant allocations of $6,510,610 annually. Of this funding, $4,058,620 would be on behalf of 
recipients of benefits under the child care subsidy program and $2,451,990 would be on behalf of recipients of 
benefits under the TANF and ASPIRE programs. 
LR0585(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1