Project Description:
Child Care Plus ME is a collaborative partnership between the University of Maine?s Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services? Office of Child Care and Head Start.
The project works to ensure that all infants, preschoolers, and young children have an opportunity to be cared for and educated in high quality, inclusive schools and community child care settings.
The Child Care Plus ME staff works with Maine child care programs and providers and with state, regional and local partners to strengthen Maine's early care and education system to more effectively support the needs of children with special needs and their families.
Our consultation to programs and providers includes problem solving assistance and individualized training to support early care and education programs. The staff work with program administrators, family childcare providers, teachers, families and other direct care staff in a variety of settings including private and not for profit child care centers, Head Start, family child care homes, school age childcare, legal unlicensed child care, preschools, public schools and community programs.
Project staff also collaborates with Maine's Resource Development Centers, Child Care Licensing, Child Development Services, ASPIRE/TANF, early intervention and related service providers, Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Center and others by providing information and technical assistance to build their capacity to support access to quality inclusive early care and education for children with special needs.
Keyword(s):
inclusive early care&educ, school age childcare;health, mental health system
Core Function(s):
Performing Technical Assistance and/or Training, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Child Care-Related Activities
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Specific Groups
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
