Child Care Facility Start-Up Grants

Grants for Starting a New Child Care Facility in Maine

Overview

Anyone interested in starting a child care facility (a child care business outside a home environment) is eligible to apply for a grant covering up to 50% of their start-up costs for a total award up to $80,000. The Facility Start-Up application is also for existing child care license holders adding an additional location. Sole proprietors, partnerships, cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, and employers are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility requirements:

  1. General eligibility requirements for licensure.
  2. Licensed child care providers interested in obtaining an additional facility license are eligible to apply.   Awards for existing license holders are contingent on the current license being in good standing. Child care providers with pending investigations or licenses that are “conditional” or “sanctioned” will not be processed and/or awards will not be granted.

Grant awards received may be used for the following purposes:

Priority Areas

Priority will be given to applications from Aroostook, Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington Counties. In addition, applicants committing to the following will receive bonus points:

Application Process

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through July 31, 2024, or until all funds are awarded or whichever occurs first. There are two steps to the process. Child Care Facility Start-Up Application 1 includes the basic requirements to be licensed and may take several days to complete. Upon completion and Acceptance of Child Care Facility Start-Up Application 1, candidates will be invited to complete Child Care Facility Start-Up Application 2, which includes a business and project plan plus an expense estimate.