The Maine Community Action Association (MCAA) is comprised of Maine’s 10 community action programs (CAPs), with the mission to eliminate and alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty by assisting low-income individuals to move toward self-sufficiency. Each year we serve 150,000 Maine residents providing a variety of services, including Head Start and child care, housing assistance, transportation services, home heating assistance, home repair, and weatherization.

All but one of our agencies are also Head Start providers, and with a whole family approach, we provide a host of other programs designed to support and lift families out of poverty.

Yet by design, there are barriers to accessing our programs many families in the community could benefit from. For example, Head Start serves income eligible families up to the federal poverty level (FPL). But with the increased minimum wage in Maine, many hard-working, low-income families are now making just enough so their children no longer qualify for the beneficial, comprehensive services provided by Head Start. And while these parents may still have access to high-quality child care with a voucher, most child care providers don’t have the financial and human resources necessary to provide important supports designed to improve positive parent-child relationships, family health, well-being and financial stability.

Integrating Early Head Start comprehensive services and resources into traditional child care and family child care settings will create new and broader opportunities to improve outcomes for young children and their families here in Maine.

The First 4 ME model is based on the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) initiative. Through these partnerships, child care providers who participate in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and Early Head Start/Head Start programs work together to meet the needs of children and families in their communities. This brings together the best of Early Head Start and child care, through layering of funding to provide comprehensive and continuous services to low-income infants, toddlers, and their families. EHS-CCP enhances developmental services and supports for low-income infants and toddlers, and their families, by providing strong relationship-based experiences and preparing them for preschool.

Together, all children in classrooms with EHS-CCP-enrolled children benefit from low teacher-to-child ratios and class sizes, qualified teachers receiving ongoing supervision and coaching to support implementation of curriculum and responsive caregiving, and broad parent engagement activities.

All Maine children and families deserve the best early education and care possible in their communities. And all early childhood professionals deserve to receive coaching and higher pay, so they provide quality, responsive caregiving that meets the needs of all children. First 4 ME does all that and more. Building community coalitions to support the First 4 ME projects across the state will increase public understanding about the important relationship between high-quality early learning and sustained educational and lifelong achievement.

First 4 ME ensures that young children have positive learning experiences and stable, consistent relationships with caring adults at home and in their communities. This is a model that works – we know that from the Elevate Maine program already in operation in Skowhegan. First 4 ME would provide an opportunity to share comprehensive services beyond the walls of our programs in many more communities. That is a benefit to children and working parents across Maine today, and an important investment in early learning and workforce development that will pay off in the future in our shared economic success as a state.

Claire Berkowitz is a member of the Board of the Maine Community Action Association and President/CEO of Midcoast Maine Community Action.

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