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$8 Million Investment from Coronavirus Relief Fund Directed to Child Care for Working Families
In combination with other federal funds, Maine's support for providers meets Bipartisan Policy Center recommendation for recovery
The Administration announced today that it will invest more than $8 million from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund to further boost access to child care and support Maine's working families in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will provide an additional $8.4 million to more than 1,700 Maine child care providers for the extra costs and challenges of operating during the pandemic.
Through the funding announced today, center-based providers will each receive up to $9,200 and family-based providers will each receive up to $950 to cover COVID-related expenses.
Maine DHHS will award the remaining $2.8 million from the previously announced $11 million in CARES Act funding for Maine, focusing on child care providers that are open and providing care by September 8, 2020. Child care centers will receive an additional $2,800 in aid and family-based providers will receive an additional $550, with grants issued in August.
Taken together, the child care reimbursement announced today from the Coronavirus Relief Fund and the CARES Act grants meet the Bipartisan Policy Center's recommended amount needed for child care providers to remain open or reopen in the face of the pandemic. In a letter to Congress, the Bipartisan Policy Center calculated that providers would need up to $12,000 (centers) and $1,500 (family-based) to re-open and make needed adjustments for health and safety precautions.
As of today, over 80 percent of Maine's approximately 1,700 licensed child care providers are open, up from about 50 percent in April. This reflects, in part, robust support from the DHHS Office of Child and Family Services. The Office has awarded the bulk of the previously announced $11 million in CARES Act funding, available through the Child Care and Development Block Grant, providing a one-time stipend to all licensed child care providers in April, subsidy support for essential workers through June 30, 2020; and grants to resume operations by June 30, 2020.
Recognizing the ongoing needs of the public while prioritizing children's safety, it has permitted child care providers to remain open throughout the State of Civil Emergency to serve Maine families, including parents who are essential to Maine's response to the pandemic. It has distributed updated guidance to promote the health and safety of children, families, child care providers, and their communities. The Office has also worked with child care partners to match working parents with providers who remain open.
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Reminds Everyone About the Risk of Accidentally Spreading Invasive Species While Moving Firewood
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) is reminding the public about the risk of spreading tree-killing invasive species while moving firewood. New infestations of invasive pests or diseases pose a serious threat to Maine's landscapes, trees, agriculture, forests, wildlife, and the environment.
Harmful invasive species, some of which are invisible to the naked eye, can hide in or on firewood. While most cannot move far on their own, these pests and diseases can be carried long distances on travelers firewood and start new infestations. Native tree species and planted fruit trees and shrubs lack defenses against these new pests and diseases. Infestations can destroy entire forests, lower property values, and cost millions of dollars to manage.
Important steps towards slowing the spread of invasive species we can all take are: 1) to realize that untreated firewood moved a long distance is a threat to trees and forests and 2) commit to using only local or certified heat-treated wood, said Allison Kanoti, State Entomologist. Bringing untreated firewood into the state is banned, but in a state as big as Maine, the commitment to use local or heat-treated wood needs to be applied to movement of firewood within the state as well.
As camping resumes this year, DACF urges all campers to look to source firewood locally, rather than bring wood with you. Typically, the firewood sold by in-state vendors is affordable, locally sourced, or heat-treated to eliminate pests and diseases. The Firewood Scout website can help you find local firewood at http://www.firewoodscout.org/
Limit the spread of invasive species, leave firewood at home and:
Use firewood certified as heat-treated;
Buy firewood at your destination or gather it on-site where permitted; and
Burn all wood on-site, and do not take any home or to a new location.
Learn more about Maine's untreated out of state firewood ban online at http://www.maine.gov/firewood.
Maine Libraries Collaborate to Collect and Share COVID-19 Stories from their Communities
In an effort to document and preserve stories of how COVID-19 has reshaped the lives of Maine people during the global pandemic, a number of Maine libraries are working together on an unprecedented archiving project that will be made available online and preserved for access by future generations.
The project was made possible with Federal CARES Act funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and involves creation of a web platform at the Maine State Library that can be used by libraries throughout the state to host and publish collections that depict the impact of COVID-19 on the people of their communities.
Over the last several months, the participating libraries have been working together to share expertise, create documentation around best practices and develop a resource guide for other libraries. Greta Schroeder, Director of the Thompson Free Memorial Library who leads this collaborative remarked, This is a great opportunity for librarians across the state to work together as we build digital archives that are community-based and connected through a shared platform. This collaboration advances an essential service of public libraries, the preservation of local history. We encourage other libraries and cultural heritage organizations to join us and look forward to seeing the stories and materials that community members share.
Current participating libraries and their projects include:
Heart of Maine Community Stories - A collaboration between Hartland Public Library, Newport Cultural Center, Pittsfield Public Library, Skowhegan Free Public Library, and Thompson Free Library (Dover-Foxcroft) to document life in Central Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Isolating Together Portland Public Library is inviting those across the greater Portland area to communicate how you are living with the present social distancing measures and although we may now be physically distant, let us remain socially connected amidst this time of isolating during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Biddeford COVID-19 Community Archive - The Archive is a joint project of the McArthur Public Library, the Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center and the Biddeford Historical Society that will document life in Biddeford during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community members submit stories, images, oral history interviews, and videos to the archive.
How's Your week Going? The Patten Free Public Library in Bath invites those who live, work, or feel at home in Sagadahoc County to share stories about how the COVID-19 epidemic is affecting you and your community.
Ogunquit Memorial Librarys COVID-19 Archive The Ogunquit Memorial Library invites members of the Ogunquit community to tell their COVID-19 story. The pandemic is affecting local culture and tourism in unprecedented ways; this project lets us document these experiences.
Bangor Covid-19 Community Archives Project - Patrons and community members are invited to submit Pandemic Postcards to be exhibited virtually and in the library in September. Covid-19 stories are also being collected and shared along with exhibits of historic collections relating to earlier pandemics.
Fort Fairfield has recently added a SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) Community Impact collection to their existing archive.
Sites are also being developed by Lewiston Public Library, West Paris Public Library and the University of Maine at Augusta. Check for new sites at the Maine State Library's Hub site.
Beyond the libraries in this project, many colleges and universities are also documenting the impact of the virus on their campus communities. The University of Maine has a COVID-19 Community Archive in Digital Commons.
Follow all these libraries on Facebook at Maine during Covid-19: Our Communities and Archives.
This is just one of the many initiatives for libraries throughout the state of Maine that are having positive impact in Maine communities. More information about these CARES ACT grant programs is available at the Maine State Libraries website.
Any-Deer Permit Applications Due August 17, 2020
You must apply for the any-deer permit lottery online. If you do not have access to a computer or the Internet at home, we would suggest:
- Using a computer at your local library
- Using a computer at work during lunch or a break
- Asking a friend or relative with a computer for help in applying
There is no application fee to apply for an any-deer permit.
To apply for an any-deer permit, you must possess a valid Maine license to hunt big game. Exceptions: See Maine resident landowners. You may enter up to three (3) Wildlife Management District choices in order of preference.
Applicants with a legal residence outside the United States or Canada cannot apply online. Those wishing to apply will need to contact the Department for help in applying.
Maine resident landowners may hunt without a license on their own land if they live on that particular piece of land, the piece of land exceeds 10 acres in size, and the land is used exclusively for agricultural purposes. A landowner whose hunting privilege is under revocation is not eligible to receive an any-deer permit or bonus deer permit. An unlicensed resident landowner may apply for an any-deer permit or bonus deer permit only in the district where his or her qualifying land is located. If an unlicensed landowner is selected to receive a permit, the permit is valid only on the qualifying land, even if a hunting license is later acquired. In order for a permit to be valid anywhere in a district, a hunting license must be acquired prior to application and that license number used on the application.
Those who have a complimentary paraplegic hunting license or are suffering from the loss of, or the permanent loss of use, of both lower extremities or have lost all or part of one or more lower limbs not including a partial foot amputation are entitled to an any-deer permit in the district of their choice in any part of the State open to the taking of antlerless deer. Those who have a complimentary paraplegic hunting license do not need to apply for an any-deer permit. Your license grants you the right to an antlerless deer from any wildlife management district where any-deer permits are allocated. When registering the antlerless deer, use your MOSES ID number as your permit number. Those who do not have a complimentary paraplegic license but qualify under this section must submit a letter signed by a physician verifying the ambulatory disability.
To apply for a bonus deer permit, you must possess a valid Maine license to hunt big game. Exceptions: See Maine resident landowners. You may enter one (1) WMD choice in the "bonus deer permit WMD Choice" box. Selection of permit holders will be done by WMD. Permittees will be chosen through chance drawings and will be assigned to a WMD using their preferences as indicated on their application. If you do not want to apply for an any-deer permit, but would like to apply for a bonus deer permit should bonus deer permits be available, designate a WMD choice for a bonus deer permit.
To apply for a superpack deer permit (Maine residents only), you must possess a valid Maine resident superpack license. Enter your superpack WMD choices in order of preference. The same application is used to enter the any-deer permit lottery. Note: If you apply for and win a super pack permit you will not be entered in the landowner or regular permit lottery. More information on Superpack License/Permits.
Purchase your fishing or hunting license online.
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