First4ME
A Community-Based Approach to Improving Access to Quality Early Care and Education
Maine’s future prosperity and workforce depend on our youngest children getting what they need to learn, grow, thrive, and become the adults who will strengthen our communities and build our economy.
Because the brain’s architecture is built over time, ensuring a strong foundation early in life is critical to everything that follows. Strong foundations are built by making sure young children have positive learning experiences and stable, consistent relationships with caring adults at home and in the community.
The challenge today for Maine families and communities:
- Three out of four children under age six have all parents in the workforce
- Early care and education is too expensive for most families, while quality isn’t assured
- Early educators are not paid or reimbursed adequately to incentivize recruitment and retention
- A lack of affordable, quality early care and education impacts a parent’s ability to fully participate in the workforce
FIRST4ME is a public-private partnership model for early care and education and workforce development that includes:
FAMILIES gain supports to improve positive parent-child relationships, and family health, well-being and financial stability
EARLY EDUCATORS receive coaching and higher pay to support quality, responsive caregiving that meets of needs of all children
Maine’s COMMUNITIES and ECONOMY gain today and in the future on skilled workers that can fully participate in their employment
CHILDREN (infant to age 4) gain access to high quality, full day, full year learning environments that support all domains of learning and healthy child development
Additional Resources
The model - Early Head Start/Child Care Partnerships