Maine child care assistance and public pre-K: CCAP, Rising Stars for ME (2026)

How OCFS runs CCAP from Augusta, without county offices

Maine has no county or regional subsidy agencies. OCFS eligibility specialists review every application, and the CCAP page lists them by county ⁠². DHHS tells families not to bring CCAP applications to local DHHS offices. The only drop-off point is 2 Anthony Avenue in Augusta ⁠⁶.

CCAP is a voucher-style subsidy, not cash. DHHS pays your provider the state market rate for your child’s age, county, hours and provider type, minus your weekly parent fee ⁠¹. Since 2025, payments are made ahead of each two-week period and based on enrollment, not on daily attendance ⁠⁸⁠¹. You can use a licensed center or family child care home, an adult caring for children in their home or yours, or a relative over 18 who has signed a CCAP provider agreement ⁠².

Your child must be 6 weeks to 12 years old (older with special needs or court supervision) and a U.S. citizen or qualified alien. You must live in Maine and certify assets of no more than $1,000,000 ⁠¹. Families getting child care through another federally funded program, such as TANF or foster care, may not be eligible for CCAP ⁠¹. TANF families should see Maine TANF and ASPIRE.

Maine’s two income tiers: 85% and 125% of state median income

The 125% SMI line sets the entry limit. A second line, at 85% SMI, decides your fee cap, your place on the waitlist, and how quickly you must report income changes. Both charts took effect April 18, 2026 and use the FFY 2026 LIHEAP SMI estimates ⁠³⁠⁴⁠⁵.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

DHHS calculates monthly income as the average weekly or biweekly pay multiplied by 4.3 ⁠¹. Families between 85% and 125% SMI must report household income changes within 10 days ⁠⁴.

Reading the April 18, 2026 parent fee scale

Your fee is a percentage of your family’s whole gross weekly income. It depends on family size and income, not on how many children are in care or how many hours you use ⁠¹⁠⁵. Fees are rounded down to the nearest dollar, and you pay them directly to your provider each week that CCAP pays ⁠³⁠⁶. Providers may not charge CCAP families more than the assessed fee when their price is above the state rate ⁠⁹.

Selected bands from the 11-step DHHS fee guide (0%, then 1% through 10%) ⁠⁵. Example fees are our calculation using the DHHS formula, income x percentage ⁠⁵.

In SMI terms, families under 30% SMI pay nothing, 75% to 89% SMI pay 7%, and 110% SMI to the limit pay 10% ⁠¹. Your fee can drop between renewals if your income falls, but it cannot be raised above your initial fee until redetermination ⁠¹. Late-pickup, transportation and field-trip fees are yours to pay. If you owe a provider unpaid parent fees, you lose eligibility unless you are keeping up with a payment plan ⁠¹.

The federal rule that made states cap copays at 7% of income was repealed in May 2026 ⁠¹⁰. That does not change Maine’s fees, because Maine’s cap is in its own rule. Chapter 6 limits fees to 7% of income below 85% SMI and 10% between 85% and 125% SMI ⁠¹. The CCDF plan amendment approved June 26, 2026 reports the same policy ⁠⁹.

Hours, school and the 12-week grace period

CCAP does not set a minimum number of hours. Parents with 1-29 hours a week of work, school or job training get part-time care, and parents with 30 or more hours get full-time care. Awards are capped at 50 hours per child per week unless DHHS approves an exception ⁠¹. Awarded hours include travel time and unpaid breaks, study time for students, and up to 8 sleep hours for night workers ⁠¹. If you are self-employed, your hours are your monthly net income divided by Maine’s minimum wage, then divided by 4.3 ⁠¹.

Other ways to qualify ⁠¹:

• A parent with a disability documented by Social Security, or rated 100% disabled by the VA, can qualify if the other parent works or studies.
• If funding allows, DHHS can waive the activity requirement for children in DHHS care and custody, and for children whose legal guardian is 65 or older, retired and no longer working.
• A child experiencing homelessness who meets the other rules is approved right away, with a 90-day grace period to turn in documents.

Awards last at least 12 months, with a renewal notice 30 days before they end ⁠¹. You must report a permanent change, such as a job loss, within 10 days. Care then continues for up to 12 weeks while you find new work or training ⁠¹. A child with 25 or more unexplained absent days (or 250 hours) in 12 months can lose the award ⁠¹.

The CCAP waitlist since November 30, 2024

OCFS started a waitlist on November 30, 2024 to stay within available funding. You can still apply, and approved families go on the list. Enrolled children keep their awards ⁠⁷. As of September 30, 2025, about 1,200 children from about 846 families were waiting. Between March and September 2025, staff contacted the families of 166 top-priority children, and 105 of those children received awards ⁠⁸. DHHS had not posted a newer count as of October 20, 2026. Its November 2024 waitlist memo is still the current notice on the CCAP resources page.

Chapter 6 sets the order ⁠¹:

1. Priority 1

   Children in families at or below 30% SMI, children experiencing homelessness, and children with special needs.

2. Priority 2

   Children in families below 85% SMI.

3. Everyone else

   Served first-come, first-served by the date DHHS received the completed application.

Exceptions are possible for emergencies such as fires, medical crises or domestic violence, and for siblings of selected children. A new guardian of a child already on CCAP can apply without going on the list. If more than 60 days have passed since your application when you are selected, you must send a new application and new documents ⁠¹.

Applying through the Baxter Family Portal

1. Create a Family Portal account

   Baxter is the OCFS online system where you apply, upload documents, renew and report changes. DHHS sends notices and email there, and the portal help desk is [email protected] ⁠²⁠⁶.

2. Upload documents before you submit

   Include four weeks of current, complete pay stubs dated within 60 days of the application, or self-employment records, school or training enrollment, and proof of your child’s citizenship and your Maine residency. Missing income proof after 10 days means a denial ⁠¹⁠².

3. Or use the paper form

   Mail it to OCFS, ATTN CCAP, 11 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, fax it to 207-287-6308, or email it to [email protected] ⁠⁶.

4. Apply up to 60 days before care starts

   CCAP reviews a complete application within 15 days (15 more if documents are missing). Approved awards start on the Saturday before DHHS received your completed application, or before your child starts care if that is later ⁠¹.

5. Get your provider approved

   If your provider is not already a CCAP provider, it must sign a provider agreement. Tell CCAP in advance before you switch providers ⁠²⁠¹.

6. Appeal in writing within 10 days

   Before reducing or ending your award, DHHS must give you 12 days’ notice. You can ask for an informal conference or an Administrative Hearing. If you request the hearing within 10 days, the provider keeps being paid until the decision ⁠¹.

Rising Stars for ME and the Star 5 fee discount

Rising Stars for ME is Maine’s quality rating and improvement system. It is paid for with CCDF money and run by OCFS ⁠¹¹. Programs are rated Star 1 to Star 5, and Star 5 is the highest ⁠⁶. Under a rule change made permanent December 22, 2025, programs accredited by NAEYC (Accreditation+), the American Montessori Society, NAFCC or the Council on Accreditation, and Head Start programs meeting national standards, are rated Star 5 ⁠¹².

CCAP pays providers 2% more at Star 3, 5% more at Star 4 and 10% more at Star 5. It adds 10% for infants and toddlers, 35% for children with special needs, and 35% for care from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. or on weekends ⁠⁹. You get a 10% cut in your parent fee if you choose a provider at the second-highest level, and a 20% cut at the highest level ⁠¹⁠⁶. In the $1,200-a-week example above, the $60 fee would drop to about $48 with a Star 5 provider. At tax time, Maine’s dependent care credit is 25% of your federal child and dependent care credit, doubled for care from a quality-certified provider, with a refund of up to $500 ⁠¹¹.

Public pre-K through your school administrative unit

Maine’s public preschool is run by local school administrative units (SAUs), not DHHS, and each SAU decides whether to offer it ⁠¹⁴. Under 20-A M.R.S. §5201, a child who is 4 on or before October 15 of the school year may enroll where a program exists. For 2026-27, that means a birthday on or before October 15, 2022 ⁠¹³. A recent amendment (Public Law 2025, chapter 633) also lets 3-year-olds enroll where a program teaches 3-year-olds. Children with disabilities identified for special education can enroll any time after turning 3 ⁠¹³.

The statute sets no income test ⁠¹³. In 2025-26, about 91% of SAUs (178 units) offer public pre-K, 70% of those report universal enrollment, and public pre-K serves about 64% of Maine’s 4-year-olds ⁠¹⁴. Programs must run at least 10 hours a week for 35 weeks ⁠¹⁵. DOE encourages longer days, and the share of SAUs offering full-day, full-week classes keeps growing ⁠¹⁵⁠¹⁴. Public pre-K is paid for through the state’s Essential Programs and Services school funding formula and local contributions, so families do not pay tuition ⁠¹⁵. When seats are short, DOE’s sample enrollment procedure uses a lottery that reserves seats for children with disabilities and from low-income families in proportion to the school’s enrollment ⁠¹⁵. Ask your SAU when registration opens and how seats are assigned.

More: child care assistance in other states and other help in Maine.