An Act To Support Children's Healthy Development and School Readiness”
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1760
Committee Amendment CA_A_S472 (Senate)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to S.P. 592, L.D. 1760, Bill, “An Act To 
Support Children's Healthy Development and School Readiness”
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 1 in the 6th line (page 1, line 11 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following:  "the Head Start program's"
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 2 in paragraph A in the first line 
(page 1, line 16 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "who"
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 2 in paragraph L in the first line 
(page 2, line 17 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "under 6 years of age"
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 2 by inserting after paragraph O 
the following:
'P.  "Home visitor services" means interactions between a home visitor and a parent 
that are nurturing, responsive and intentional and that support the parent in the 
parent's role as the primary teacher of the parent's child and assist the parent in using 
the parent's home and the community as the child's learning environment.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 2 in paragraph Q in the first line 
(page 2, line 30 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "or family of an eligible child"
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 2 by striking out all of paragraph T 
(page 2, lines 36 to 40 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 2 by relettering the paragraphs to 
read alphabetically.
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 3 in paragraph C in the 3rd line 
(page 3, line 6 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "possible participants" and 
inserting the following: 'eligible persons'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 4 by striking out all of paragraph 
A (page 3, lines 15 to 38 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
'A.  Service delivery as provided by:
Date: 
(Filing No. S-          )
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to S.P. 592, L.D. 1760
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
(1)  A child care center or family child care provider, for at least 48 weeks per 
year, 5 days per week excluding state holidays, available 10 hours per day and 
with up to 10 days of staff training; or
(2)  Home visitor services, including group socialization activities that include a 
child and the child's parent, for at least 48 weeks per year. Curricula must focus 
on the parent-child relationship and be culturally and linguistically responsive.
A participant may receive service delivery under subparagraph (1) or (2) or both;' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 4 in paragraph D in the first line 
(page 4, line 11 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "Parent and family" and inserting 
the following:  'Family'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 4 in paragraph E in the last line 
(page 4, line 24 in L.D.) by inserting after the following:  "3173;" the following:  'and'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 4 in paragraph F in the last line 
(page 4, line 26 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "; and" and inserting the 
following:  '.'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 4 by striking out all of paragraph 
G (page 4, lines 27 and 28 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 5 in paragraph A in subparagraph 
(2) (page 4, line 32 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "visits;" and inserting the 
following:  'visits.'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 5 by striking out all of paragraphs 
B and C (page 4, lines 33 to 37 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 by striking out all of subsections 7 and 8 (page 
5, lines 12 to 38 and page 6, lines 1 to 15 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
'7.  Community coalition; membership.  A community coalition shall assist and 
support a community contractor in sponsoring, developing and submitting a project 
application under subsection 3, including a community assessment and supporting 
comprehensive, high-quality early child care and education in the community.  
Membership of a community coalition must include at least one:
A.  Community contractor;
B.  Representative of the local business community;
C.  Center-based child care provider;
D.  Family child care provider;
E.  Health care provider;
F.  Mental health care provider;
G.  Home visitor;
H.  Public school administrator;
I.  Parent;
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to S.P. 592, L.D. 1760
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
J.  Representative of an organization that supports workforce development;
K.  Provider of services under Part B or Part C of the federal Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act; and
L.  Provider of professional development to early child care and education 
professionals.
A member of a community coalition must be located or operate within the community 
represented by the community coalition.  A community coalition may include a local 
government staff member or agency that provides services to or local judicial staff who 
have engaged with an at-risk population.
8.  Community contractor.  A community contractor shall have adequate 
infrastructure and qualified and credentialed staff to carry out the duties under this 
subsection.  Duties of a community contractor include:
A.  Representing and being the responsible member for the community coalition;
B.  Submitting an application under subsection 3;
C.  Being the lead member and coordinator of a community coalition and the 
coalition's activities;
D.  Contracting for and ensuring implementation of high-quality services with 
community providers;
E.  Employing or contracting for all required services;
F.  Implementing and maintaining a data system to collect and report aggregate data 
regarding child, family and provider information, activities and outcomes; and
G.  Participating in a collective, Internet-based system that captures data from all 
project locations in a manner that protects the confidentiality of information of 
participants.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 9 in paragraph A in the last line 
(page 6, line 21 in L.D.) by striking out the following:  "and training as a community 
coach"
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 9 by striking out all of paragraph 
D (page 6, lines 35 and 36 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 in subsection 9 by relettering the paragraphs to 
read alphabetically.
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 by striking out all of subsections 11 to 13 (page 
7, lines 13 to 26 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
'11.  Community coach.  The community contractor shall employ or contract with a 
community coach to provide information and training to a community provider.  A 
community coach must receive training from a research-based early childhood program 
with experience in a comprehensive, high-quality early child care and education program.
12.  Consent to data.  A community provider or community contractor may not use 
personally identifying data derived from services provided to a participant without the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to S.P. 592, L.D. 1760
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
consent of a participant's parent.  A community provider or community contractor may 
not use the personally identifying data derived from services provided to the family of a 
participant without the consent of the parent.
13.  Request for proposals.  The department shall request proposals for projects to 
commence June 1, 2022 to carry out the purposes of the program.  The department shall 
select up to 10 projects from proposals submitted under this subsection.  The department 
shall prioritize funding to a project that serves a community with high numbers or a high 
percentage of children who are economically disadvantaged or that effectively involves a 
wide variety of providers or other entities in the community including school 
administrative units.
14.  Funding.  The department shall seek and apply for available federal funds or 
funds from any other sources to pay the costs of the projects.  To the maximum extent 
possible, the department shall use state funds received for the projects to maximize its 
receipt of federal funds to be used for the projects.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §3931 by renumbering the subsections to read 
consecutively.
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following:
'Sec. 2.  Report.  On October 2, 2024, a community contractor whose project is 
selected under the First 4 ME Early Care and Education Program established in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 22, chapter 1065 shall report to the Department of Health and 
Human Services on the progress toward objectives, goals and outcomes of the project 
detailed in the project's proposal.  On or before February 1, 2025, the department shall 
report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health 
and human services matters regarding the project reports received under this section 
along with any recommended legislation.  The committee may report out legislation 
based upon the department's report to the First Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, changes the First 4 
ME Early Care and Education Program from a pilot project to an ongoing program within 
the Department of Health and Human Services.  It directs the department to seek and 
apply for available federal funds or funds from any other sources to pay the costs of 
projects under the program and provides that the department, to the maximum extent 
possible, must use state funds received for the projects to maximize its receipt of federal 
funds to be used for the projects.  It also amends some of the participant qualification and 
provider requirements under the program.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
Approved: 07/14/20
LD 1760
LR 1533(02)
FY 2019-20
FY 2020-21
Projections 
FY 2021-22
Projections 
FY 2022-23
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund
$0
$0
$1,016,361
$11,304,671
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund
$0
$0
$1,016,361
$11,304,671
Other Special Revenue Funds
$0
$0
$16,682
$203,542
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The Department of Health and Human Services will not receive General Fund appropriations in the current biennium, 
since this program only commences on June 1, 2022. The department will require funding for 4 Social Service 
Program Specialist II positions and 3 Social Service Program Specialist I positions to manage the program and all 
contract requirements along with funding for contracts with up to 10 pilot project providers beginning on June 1, 
2022. This funding will need to be requested as part of the SFY 2022-23 biennial budget process.
Fiscal Note
An Act To Support Children's Healthy Development and School Readiness
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
Committee: Health and Human Services
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
LR1533(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1