Financing Child Care in the United States - Ewing Marion Kauffman ...

ALLOCATING PUBLIC REVENUES HEALTH
HOW FUND DISTRIBUTED
Three state agencies—the Department of Human
Services (DHS), the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)
and the Department of Revenue (DR)—are involved in the
administration of funds allocated as a result of Start ME
Right and coordinate the various program initiatives. DHS
administers all aspects of Start ME Right except for the
revolving loan fund for child care providers, the Tuition
Assistance Program and the various tax–based programs.
These programs are administered by FAME or the
Department of Revenue. For any program involving the
stimulation of improved quality in child care, DHS certifies
to the other agencies that the basic criteria have been
met before they may distribute funds.
POPULATION SERVED
Start ME Right expands child care and home visiting
services, which benefit parents and children, as well as
child care programs and the community as a whole.
STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS
• In the early fall of 1998 the Maine Children’s Alliance
convened a group of legislators, interested groups and
individuals with plans for legislation so that they could
develop a comprehensive legislative agenda. After
meeting several times, the group grew and the
leadership expanded. What emerged was a three–
pronged legislative approach known as Start ME Right.
• Start ME Right’s Supporting Parents and Families
legislation was introduced by Senator Tina Baker (D) in
collaboration with the Task Force on Early Care and
Education to assure the availability of an early
childhood home–visiting component. The Providing
Quality Child Care legislation was introduced by
Speaker Steven Rowe (D) in collaboration with the
Alliance for Children’s Care, Education and Supportive
Services (ACCESS) to improve quality, increase
subsidies, extend care to 12– to 15–year–
olds, increase child care capacity and extend Head
Start capability to full–day, full–year programming. The
Encouraging Business and Communities to Help
legislation was introduced by Senator Susan Longley
(D), in collaboration with business and community
leaders, to strengthen child care infrastructure through
tax incentives, revolving loans and a scholarship fund.
• Coalition participants indicate that the creation of a
Code of Ethics for the Start ME Right coalition proved
invaluable during the legislative negotiations in support
of Start ME Right. Coalition members, including the
legislators who sponsored the bills that made up Start
ME Right, agreed that it would be important to work
together and not permit any one objective, or legislative
bill, to be separated from the rest. This strategy proved
successful, and participants were able to honor the
agreement.
• Initially the Start ME Coalition sought to focus its
support on access and quality in child care and home
visiting, reflecting the long–term interests and
preparatory work in these area done by several of its
key members. One of the participating legislators,
Senator Susan Longley had an opportunity to review
the first edition of Financing Child Care in the United
States. As a result, she developed an interest in the
role of child care in community and economic
development, and she researched initiatives to
stimulate child care capacity, particularly by using
private–sector investment. This allowed the coalition to
develop and present additional strategies to enhance
child care capacity.
• While high–level leadership from legislators helped to
pass the Start ME Right legislation, the coalition also
was able to make effective use of the press and
hearings to get the word out on the scope and breadth
of Start ME Right. Coalition members were
represented in the group that made recommendations
for the use of the tobacco settlement funds. They were
able to argue successfully that the Start ME Right
agenda was an appropriate use of the tobacco funds.
• The inclusion of the tax–based incentives and the
business–economic orientation in Start ME Right was
seen as important to the support of Governor Angus S.
King Jr. (Ind.) for the legislative packet. Maine had a
tight labor market at the time the legislation passed;
additionally, child care programs provided the third
largest source of employment in Maine, which helped
position the initiative as a positive contribution to
community and economic development.
• Members of the coalition report that the implementation
of Start ME Right has required ongoing engagement
and oversight, particularly since much of the money
requires an annual appropriation. They have had to
work with the state agencies to develop implementation
guidelines and to continue mobilizing to secure
ongoing state investment in Start ME Right. This has
allowed the participating organizations and individuals
to work on increasing the sophistication of the
advocacy effort while retaining clarity about their vision
and objectives.
• One of the key groups that made up the Start ME
Right Coalition is known as ACCESS, which serves as
a broad–based coalition of child care organizations in
Maine. ACCESS started in January 1997 as an
informal association bringing together the Maine Child
Care Director’s Association, Maine Head Start
Director’s Association and the Maine Association of
Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. By fall
1997, Maine’s Office of Child Care and Head Start
made funding available to the group through its federal
Head Start collaboration grant. Funds from the
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