Maine Child Care Subsidy for Grandparents and Kinship Caregivers

Childcare on a Fixed Income Is Not Sustainable

Full-time childcare in Maine runs well over $1,000 a month for a preschooler. For a grandparent on Social Security or a retired relative who suddenly has a young child to look after, that cost is simply not realistic without help.

Maine's Child Care Affordability Program (CCAP) can cover a significant portion of childcare costs. The program is not limited to working parents — retired grandparents who are the child's legal guardian can also qualify.

Who Is Eligible

CCAP is available to adults who are employed, in school, in job training, or retired. The retired-caregiver route specifically covers adults who are the child's legal guardian. The income limit is 125% of Maine's median income, which accommodates most kinship households.

Copayments are based on a sliding fee scale tied to your household income. Lower income means a lower copay.

Provider Flexibility

You are not locked into a licensed daycare center. CCAP allows you to choose from:

• Licensed childcare centers
• Licensed family childcare homes
• Adults providing care in their own home or in the child's home, including relatives over age 18, who are approved by CCAP

This option matters for kinship families. A relative, neighbor, or friend may apply to become an approved CCAP provider, and CCAP can pay an approved provider directly. Many grandparents use this to keep the child with someone the family already trusts.

CCAP requires fingerprint-based background checks for license-exempt nonrelative providers, but relative child-care providers are excluded from this requirement.

How to Apply

Contact the Child Care Affordability Program at 1-877-680-5866 or 207-624-7999 to start a CCAP application. The application requires proof of your work status (or retirement and guardian status), income documentation, and information about your chosen childcare provider.

Processing times vary, so apply as early as possible — childcare costs add up fast while you wait.

The HOPE Program for Education

If you are between 16 and 64, accepted into or enrolled at least half-time in post-secondary education or training, and have gross income at or below 225% of the federal poverty level with assets of $10,000 or less (excluding your primary home and car), the HOPE program can help cover tuition, books, childcare, and transportation. You are not eligible if anyone in your family unit is currently receiving a monthly TANF or PaS cash benefit.

HOPE is available to caretaker relatives of minor children, not just parents. If going back to school or completing a certification would help your family financially, this program can make the logistics workable.

The complete Maine kinship financial help guide covers CCAP, HOPE, and every other childcare and financial program available to relative caregivers in Maine — including how the programs interact and which documents each agency requires.

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