The Sanford-Springvale YMCA unveiled an expansion to its childcare services Tuesday, in a move state officials say is helping to meet ongoing demand for available childcare slots in Maine.
“I think that this event is an example of trying to fill those slots,” said Bobbi Johnson, director of the office of child and family services at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
The expanded center on Emile Levasseur Drive includes three new classrooms and materials, enough for the YMCA to add another 46 children to its childcare program. A $250,000 grant through Gov. Janet Mills’ Jobs Plan paid for the renovations.
“Early childhood development is so critical to raising healthy, happy and successful children who will then become successful students and successful adults,” Mills said in remarks at Tuesday’s event.
Mills noted that in the Sanford area, 3,700 households have two working parents of children under 18. Johnson said a gap remains in need for childcare versus availability statewide.
“We know that the demand for childcare remains a critical need for our state, particularly in our rural areas,” she said.
But Johnson added that the Mills administration is working to address the problem, with more than $120 million in investments in childcare programs in recent years, providing space for as many as 5,000 children.
And Johnson said there is data to show the efforts are working, citing reports from the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington on childcare in Maine.
According to the reports, in 2020 there was a demand of 4,921 slots for childcare in Maine that was not being met. By 2022, the reports found, that number had dropped to 3,079 slots, and the most recent data, from September 2023, showed a gap of 2,980 slots.
“I know that we continue to do outreach to providers to support them in order to increase their capacity to provide services,” Johnson said. “We have stabilization grants and infrastructure grants that we provide to our childcare providers to help with those efforts.”
The YMCA’s expansion also includes a first-ever full-day public pre-kindergarten program with classes for up to 16 children. Another $157,000 grant provided by the state Department of Education will allow the program to be available for the first year free of charge.
“As one of the largest providers of childcare and camp in York County we continue to seek ways to meet the growing need for quality childcare,” said Andy Orazio, CEO of the Sanford-Springvale YMCA. “The funds received from the childcare expansion grant allowed us to leverage those dollars to raise additional funds from our local stakeholders to make this vision possible. We cannot thank Governor Mills enough for making childcare a priority in the state of Maine.”
