Maine subsidy rates for home day care

The state publishes maximum rates, by county and provider type

Maine's child care subsidy program pays providers on published maximum rates, and the state publishes them separately for licensed child care centers, licensed family child care homes, and license-exempt care.

The rate document is updated by the department — the current schedule on the provider page is dated May 19, 2025. It is organized by county, by age group, and by full-time or part-time hours.

Age definitions matter when you read it: full time is defined as 30 to 50 hours weekly and part time as 1 to 29 hours. A family enrolled at 28 hours and one enrolled at 31 are different rows in the same table, so read the definitions before quoting a rate to a parent.

Maine DHHS publishes child care market rate schedules with separate maximum rates for licensed child care centers, licensed family child care, and license-exempt child care, by county. — Maine DHHS, child care market rates, retrieved 2026-09-29

30 to 50 hoursMaine's child care market rate schedule defines full time as 30 to 50 hours weekly and part time as 1 to 29 hours weekly. — Maine DHHS, child care market rates, retrieved 2026-09-29

What family child care homes actually charge

The state surveys the market to set those maximums. Its 2024 survey of Maine providers reports full-time weekly rates for family child care, by percentile and by county grouping.

Outside the southern tier — everywhere except Cumberland, Sagadahoc and York counties. There, the 50th percentile full-time weekly rate for a family child care home was $185 for infants, $175 for toddlers, $165 for preschoolers and $140 for school-aged children. The 75th percentile ran $210, $200, $190 and $170.

In Cumberland, Sagadahoc and York, the 50th percentile was higher — $225 for infants and $205 for preschoolers. Read the survey as the market's shape, not a price list. It is what homes charged, and your rate is what you set and parents will pay.

$185 per weekMaine's 2024 survey reports the 50th percentile full-time weekly family child care rate, outside Cumberland, Sagadahoc and York, at $185 infants, $175 toddlers, $165 preschoolers, $140 school-aged. — Maine DHHS, 2024 child care market rate survey, retrieved 2026-09-29

$225 per weekMaine's 2024 market rate survey reports the 50th percentile full-time weekly family child care rate in Cumberland, Sagadahoc and York counties at $225 for infants and $205 for preschoolers. — Maine DHHS, 2024 child care market rate survey, retrieved 2026-09-29

Payment rates cover at least half the market

The survey's own summary states the policy plainly. All payment rates reflect at least the 50th percentile. Every payment rate covers the rate charged by at least half of the state's providers for a given age group within a given region.

That is the floor, not the ceiling. For some regions and age groups the department adopted a higher percentile as its benchmark, and the adopted benchmarks are marked in the survey's tables.

The gap between your private rate and the subsidy maximum is the number to work out before you enroll a subsidy family. Whatever the maximum does not cover, the parent fee schedule and your own policy have to answer. Put the answer in the enrollment contract before the first week, not after the first invoice.

50th percentileMaine's 2024 survey states all payment rates reflect at least the 50th percentile — every payment rate covers the rate charged by at least half of providers for that age group and region. — Maine DHHS, 2024 child care market rate survey, retrieved 2026-09-29

Who the family child care market is

The survey also counts the market. As of October 2023, Maine had 710 licensed family child care providers — 46 percent of all licensed providers. They held only 7,947 of the state's 48,857 licensed slots, about 16 percent.

Centers hold the other five sixths of capacity. A home provider is a small share of a large system, which is exactly why the subsidy program's rate tables treat family child care as their own category rather than a discount version of center care.

Demand leans young. Of the 3,643 children on reported waitlists at the time of the survey, more than three quarters — 78.5 percent — were infants. If you are deciding which ages to license for, the capacity page covers what the ratio table allows at each age.

710 providersMaine's 2024 market rate survey counted 710 licensed family child care providers as of October 2023, 46 percent of licensed providers, holding 7,947 of the state's 48,857 licensed child care slots. — Maine DHHS, 2024 child care market rate survey, retrieved 2026-09-29

78.5 percentMaine's 2024 market rate survey reports that more than three quarters — 78.5 percent — of the 3,643 children on reported child care waitlists were infants. — Maine DHHS, 2024 child care market rate survey, retrieved 2026-09-29

Getting paid: the vendor form first

The state cannot pay a provider it has no vendor code for. The pre-licensing checklist includes the step directly: after you submit your application, complete and submit a State of Maine vendor form to your licensing specialist. In order to receive any payments from the State of Maine, a vendor code needs to be established.

File it early. A subsidy enrollment that reaches the billing stage with no vendor code on file is a payment that starts late, and the billing-week schedules the department publishes do not stretch to cover a missing form.

The subsidy program's page also carries its own paperwork: billing week schedules, parent fee guides and regional office contacts. Set those beside the food program's claim forms in one getting-paid folder. The food program page covers that half — and the whole revenue side of the business is in one place.

Maine's pre-licensing checklist instructs applicants to submit a State of Maine vendor form after applying, because a vendor code is required for any payment from the state. — Maine DHHS, Children's Licensing and Investigation Services, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions