New bill could help working parents access childcare in Maine [Video]

AUGUSTA, Maine — Daycare centers and other childcare providers around Maine are short on openings and many have long waitlists, which means working parents can’t find affordable, reliable childcare.

Rep. Rebecca Jauch introduced a bill to improve child care in the state. Jauch, a Democrat representing Topsham, is a mother of two young children and said her own family has struggled to find affordable childcare.

Jauch’s bill proposal would create a group of stakeholders, including childcare services, the business community, and state organizations, to examine the shortfalls in the state’s childcare system and find potential solutions, like funding, grants, tax credits, or workforce incentives.

“We need to invest in childcare providers, too, because it’s a traditionally undervalued and [a] low wage sector of our workforce and they are, you know, they are the workers behind the workers,” Jauch …