PDG Birth-5 System Building Grant - Maine proposes a comprehensive, PDG B-5 initiative to advance a unified, high-quality early care and education (ECE) system that ensures seamless access for families and sustainable support for providers. Maine’s work will align fragmented policies and initiatives into a cohesive system. Key strategies include building a unified professional development network (PDN) by coordinating professional learning opportunities statewide, including emergent literacy and numeracy action plans, family engagement, and supporting classroom practices for helping children and educators co-regulate behaviors. Maine will leverage the updated needs assessment, Help Me Grow expertise, regional mixed delivery work, and quality stipends to ECE programs to expand access and options for families. This includes outlining strategies to build the infant/toddler care supply, strengthening family engagement through local work with child care programs and school districts, partnership with Head Start family service professionals, and designing a unified system for families to apply for and access services. These efforts will ensure families experience seamless ECE connections, regardless of funding stream or setting. Maine will also integrate data by advancing an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) to streamline data collection and reporting, reduce administrative burden, and improve accountability.
