Maine is taking significant steps toward achieving its early childhood goals and bettering the lives of young children. The Office of Child and Family Services, in coordination with the Governor’s Office on Policy, Innovation, and the Future and the Maine Department of Education was awarded the Preschool Development Grant. One component of the grant is to expand upon the state’s current plan by developing a cost model.

What does this mean?
A cost model estimates the related costs associated with providing early childhood education and care at different levels of quality across program settings and geography. Traditionally, government funding has relied heavily on federally required market rate surveys to measure the price of care across the state. But understanding the price is not enough. Cost modeling paints a more complete picture.