Maine has one of the highest minimum wage rates in the country. But a parent earning the $14.15 hourly minimum wage earns far below the estimated living wage of $45 per hour necessary to support two children.

Despite full-time employment, hardworking Maine people are struggling to keep up with inflation, the sharp increase in housing costs and lack of affordable child care options.

In 2021, 12% of Maine households were living below the federal poverty line and 30% were below the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) threshold. The ALICE threshold means households earn just above the federal poverty level but not enough to afford basic necessities in their communities. These statistics are disproportionately higher for people of color.

For working adults with young children, the lack of affordable child care provides a significant barrier to success. Equally challenging, 22% of Maine children live in a child care desert. Even if child care is available, it can become prohibitively expensive on minimum-wage pay: The average monthly infant daycare cost in Maine is nearly $1,000. Without child care, the mother is most likely to leave the workforce and stay home as caregiver, stunting her career and earning potential.

St. Elizabeth’s Child Development Center in Portland will increase its capacity for children ages 1-5. MaineCF’s Edward H. Daveis Benevolent Fund awarded the center $10,000 for this effort earlier this year. Catholic Charities of Maine photo

These major barriers to economic advancement keep hardworking people from moving forward and thriving. MaineCF will support economic opportunity for people in all corners of Maine by helping increase access to education, workforce training and affordable, quality child care.

This work has already begun through the foundation’s role as a convener, collaborator and funder.

MaineCF’s adult learner scholarship program since 2019 has supported the aspirations of nontraditional students returning to school, attending for the first time or earning workplace credentials and certificates to open career doors. Thousands of scholarships totaling more than $5.1 million have furthered college educations and boosted job prospects for Maine people.

Over the past several years, MaineCF has supported public policy efforts to combat low pay for child care workers and increase child care openings. The foundation’s support of the Right From the Start Coalition, a group of organizations working to ensure all Maine children have equal opportunities, helped pass a bipartisan bill in the state legislature to increase pay for child care workers and subsidize their child care costs.

The foundation will maintain and grow partnerships with local and statewide organizations to increase access to education and workforce training, affordable child care and economic opportunities for all Maine people.