Partners & Additional Resources

ACCESS – FMI:Karen Hatch, 207- 685-9419 - ACCESS connects larger statewide vision and mission while informing and guiding our counties in the work accomplished within the ECE community: every family will be able to access early care and education in the setting of their choice, families in need of comprehensive care and education will receive them, ECE providers will become inclusive, and actively continue to build our community’s capacity to offer and ensure that family focused services are available.

After-School Network – FMI: Deb Chase, 207-778-7575, deborah.chase@maine.edu — The After-School Network fosters partnerships with policymakers and providers to coordinate services across the state, assist in securing resources to help develop new after-school programs, assist with training, and technical assistance to ensure programs are inclusive, high quality, and meet the needs of children, families and communities.

Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies/Child Care +ME – FMI: 1-866-230-4520, ccimail@umit.maine.edu, - The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion, Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service is a partnership that brings together the resources of the community and the University to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. Child Care +ME offers problem solving assistance and training to support child care centers, child care homes, families, preschools, public schools, and community programs so they may provide quality experiences for all children.

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Child Development Services – FMI:Debra Hannigan, 207-624-6660, debra.hannigan@maine.gov — Child Development Services (CDS) is responsible for insuring identification of children with developmental delays and disabilities of children ages birth through five. CDS provides screenings and evaluation to assess children’s skills in all areas of development and coordinates early intervention services for children ages birth through two and assures provision of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) services to children ages three to not yet school age five.

Data 4 Mapping Project - FMI: Priscilla Armstrong, 207-780-5846, parmstro@usm.maine.edu - Maine Roads to Quality along with its Registry partners in Montana, Missouri and Wisconsin worked together with the National Registry Alliance with funding through the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives to identify what will be used to develop a national dataset for data analysis called the Early Childhood Atlas. As more states are able to provide data on the identified datasets and transfer that data to the Alliance, the National Registry Alliance will be able to develop targeted state and federal policy briefs.

Early Childhood Task Force – FMI: Sheryl Peavey, 207-287- 3339, Sheryl.peavey@maine.gov — The Early Childhood Task Force represents a multidisciplinary, interagency partnership of state government, communities, organizations and families working together to enhance and develop more humane and culturally respectful systems and policies for Maine’s young children and families. Invest Early: A Working Plan for Early Childhood Systems in Maine, 2006.

Early Reading First - FMI: Sue Reed, 207-780-5825, sreed@usm.maine.edu - Early Reading First is a project of the U.S. Department of Education, which provides funding to transform existing early childhood education programs into preschool centers of educational excellence. The mission of Early Reading First “is to ensure that all children enter kindergarten with the necessary language, cognitive, and early reading skills for continued success in school.” Many children enter school without the foundations in vocabulary, ability to attune to the sounds of language, knowledge of the alphabet, and the world of print. Research shows these are critical precursors to reading proficiency. This foundation is particularly lacking in many children from low-income families or those who are English language learners. Click here for Project Fact Sheet.

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Early stARTS Project - FMI: Amy Sullivan, 207-780-5832, asulliva@usm.maine.edu - The Early stARTS Project is a joint effort between the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Child Care and Head Start. It highlights the importance of quality arts education for preschool age children and ensures that there is a focus on arts education within early childhood education programs in Maine. The Early StARTS initiative promotes the use of all the arts disciplines through 1) professional development opportunities for early childhood educators and care providers, 2) networking and resource lists, 3) artist-in-residence programs, and 4) conferences. Click here for Project Information Sheet.

Infant Toddler Initiative – FMI: Karen White, 207-755-5376, kwhite@cmcc.edu — Infant toddler child care providers around the state participate in a week long, intensive, 3-credit college course that looks at all aspects of providing quality infant toddler care. Applications are available in May and the Institute is held in July.

Maine Association for the Education of Young Children (MEAEYC) - FMI: info@maineaeyc.org. The purpose of the Maine AEYC is to serve and act on the behalf of the needs, rights, and well-being of all young children in Maine and their families, with special emphasis on developmental and educational services and resources and fostering the growth and development of the membership in their work with, and on behalf of, young children.

Maine Child Care Directors Association – FMI: Karen Roux, 207-324-6025, karenr@ccsyc.org — Maine Child Care Directors Association work is committed to maintaining and expanding a high quality, accessible, and affordable child care system in Maine that is equally responsive to the needs of children, families, and providers. Of special concern are the needs of children at risk and those who live in poverty.

Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program – FMI: 207-287-4311 or 1-866-292-3474 — The Maine Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (MCLPPP) website includes information for providers, parents, property owners, landlords, and the recent Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls due to lead.

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Maine Family Child Care Association – FMI: Ruth Burke, ruthburke@hotmail.com, - The Maine Family Child Care Association connects family child care providers across the state into a community of caregivers (through our newsletter and website) and advocate for family child care whenever possible.

Maine Head Start Directors Association – FMI: Judy Reidt Parker, 207-874-1140, JRP@propeople.org — The Maine Head Start Directors Association is made up of directors of the 12 Head Start grantees in Maine, and state and federal support staff. Our association meets monthly to network, provide support to each other, to plan and assist in developing statewide systems that support strong, quality early care and education in Maine.

Maine's Higher Education Institutions - Click here for a list of Maine's Higher Education Institutions.

Maine Humanities Council - FMI: 1-866-MEreader or 1-866-637-3233 info@mainehumanities.org - The Maine Humanities Council helps people of all ages and educational levels deepen their understanding of themselves, their communities, and the world. Through programs that convene conversations around books, and grants that reward local innovation, the Council works to make Maine a more thoughtful, literate, and humane place in which to live. The Council’s programs are conducted under the umbrella of the Harriet P. Henry Center For the Book, through which the Council serves as Maine's affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

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Maine Resource Development Centers (RDCs) –Maine’s network of Child Care Resource Development Centers (RDCs) is designed to continuously identify and respond to the child care needs in the state of Maine through education, advocacy and the creation of quality child care choices. Maine RDCs are the single point of access for parents, child care providers/programs and communities who are searching for information and direction with their child care needs, child care concerns and child care consumer education and extensive resources. The Maine RDCs deliver the Maine Roads to Quality Core Knowledge Training and are your resource for information on professional development.

Maine Parent Federation, Inc. – FMI: 1-800-870-7746, parentconnect@mpf.org, — The Maine Parent Federation, Inc. is a statewide organization that provides information, advocacy, education, and training to benefit all children. They promote individual aspirations and community inclusion for people with disabilities.

Maine School Age Care Alliance – FMI: Nancy Simpson, 207- 453-4223, nsimpson@msad49.org — The Maine School Age Care Alliance is a membership organization that promotes the field of school age care as a profession and provides educational and networking supports to the people working in the field.

National AfterSchool Association (NAA) - The National AfterSchool Association (NAA), formerly the National School-Age Care Alliance, was founded in 1987. They are a professional association with a membership component-their membership includes more than 7,000 practitioners, policy makers, and administrators representing all public, private, and community-based sectors of after-school and out-of-school time programs, as well as school-age and after-school programs on military bases, both domestic and international. As the leading voice of the after-school profession, they are dedicated to the development, education, and care of children and youth during their out-of-school hours.

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National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) - The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8. NAEYC is committed to becoming an increasingly high performing and inclusive organization. Founded in 1926, NAEYC is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 100,000 members, a national network of over 300 local, state, and regional affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations. Membership is open to all individuals who share a desire to serve and act on behalf of the needs and rights of all young children.

National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) - The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) began years ago as an informal approach to providing child care as a way to support working parents. Family child care providers today are making an intentional career choice to offer quality early care and education in their homes. NAFCC is dedicated to strengthening the profession of family child care by promoting high quality, professional early care and education and strengthening communities where providers live and work. NAFCC is dedicated to advocating for the family child care profession by collaborating with other local, state, and national organizations who contribute to the family child care field to increase awareness about and improve the quality of family child care.

Office of Child & Family Services Early Childhood Division – FMI: Carolyn Drugge, 207-287-5060, childcare.info@maine.gov, — The Office of Child Care and Head Start is responsible for the development and improvement of child care resources across the state. It administers, evaluates and directs the expenditures of state and federal dollars for the provision of child care. The office manages grants, develops and manages programs and provides technical assistance to improve the quality of child care.

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Quality for ME - FMI: QualityforME@maine.gov - Quality for ME is a voluntary four-step program designed to increase awareness of the basic standards of early care and education, to recognize and support providers who are providing care above and beyond those standards, and to educate the community of the benefits of higher quality care. Click here for the online application: http://www.qualityforme.org/qcare/login.aspx

Raising Readers - FMI: 1-800-397-3263, info@raisingreaders.org - Raising Readers Promotes reading aloud to children in Maine ages birth to 5 years. They provide Family Practice and Pediatric providers beautiful new books to give to children at well child visits 2 months to 5 years. For newborns, raising readers gives books in canvas totes to Maine hospitals, birth centers, midwives, and adoption agencies. Is available at no cost to all health care providers in Maine who see children between the ages of birth and 5 years. Is a community partnership and works with other child health and community literacy initiatives. A statewide advisory committee helps coordinate these activities. Is a collaboration of Maine's two largest health care delivery systems, MaineHealth and Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems Is generously funded by the Libra Foundation.

Region One Head Start Quality Initiative – FMI: Dee Bertozzi, 617-565-1712, dbertozzi@acf.hhs.gov — The Region One Head Start Quality Initiative provides technical assistance to Head Start and Early Head Start grantees throughout New England. The mission of the Head Start Quality Initiative is to ensure, through the provision of expert knowledge and technical support, that Head Start and Early Head Start grantees in New England deliver high quality services that meet all national performance standards and requirements.

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