GORHAM — The lack of affordable childcare in Maine not only impacts parents who want to reenter the workforce, but local businesses who struggle with employee absences and tardiness.
A panel that featured childcare experts gathered at Seedlings to Sunflowers Monday to highlight the issue and express hope that state and federal actions will improve the situation.
Parent April Tardiff said if she could find affordable care for her toddler, she would go back to school to finish her degree.
“It would be lifechanging,” she said. “It would be a huge peace of mind for me and my husband knowing that my son would have the high-quality childcare he deserves.”
A June 2023 study by Colby College estimates the shortage of childcare in Maine is costing the state more than $400 million a year in lost earnings, productivity and revenue.
For parents who can find childcare, estimates show that the average annual cost of center-based care is nearly $11,000 a year, according to the Maine People’s Alliance.
And for workers in the industry, the average pay of $17.12 per hour pales in comparison to what a kindergarten teacher makes, said Arthur Phillips of the Maine Center for Economic Policy.
“Childcare workers are paid relatively low wages,” he said. “They historically have been one of the lowest paid workers in our economy.”
On Thursday at the State House, the Health and Human Services Committee will consider five bills aimed at improving the childcare system in Maine.
Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick), who attended the Monday panel, said Canada and New Mexico made major investments in childcare and it has helped their economies.
She’s sponsoring LD 1955, which continues to fund a salary supplement for childcare workers, supports scholarship and apprenticeship programs for those who want to enter the field and works toward ending a waitlist for services.
“This is just sort of a beginning foray,” she said. “This is not one bill that’s going to fix the childcare crisis. I think about how this is something that needs to be a much longer, larger project.”
To that end, she plans to travel the state over the summer to meet with parents, educators and business owners to create a statewide policy.
For George Sotiropoulos, owner of the Gorham House of Pizza, a lack of reliable, affordable childcare affects his employees every day. As a parent himself, he understands when a worker comes in late or must leave early because they don’t have childcare.
But the uncertainty takes a toll, whether it be by putting pressure on other workers who must take on extra work when someone calls out or in the continuity he’s trying to achieve with high quality service.
“I always preach to the staff consistency is everything,” he said. “Consistency of service, consistency of our food, and the way you maintain that consistency is keeping your staff, keeping the same ones around.”