Maine

Overall Policy Lever Score

3

Child care licensing in Maine requires administrators to obtain 30 clock hours of continuing education annually. The competency-based director credential requires experience in early childhood education but not in administration. There are three options to attain the credential that allow for various combinations of clock-hour training and college coursework, ranging from 150 clock-hours to 9 semester hours of college credit. At the highest level, the statewide QRIS requires administrators to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Elementary school principal licensure requires a graduate degree. For state pre-K programs, elementary schools are required to have a licensed principal; community-based programs do not have specific qualifications for directors.

 

The interactive map at the right shows the density of child care directors by county (2012 Workforce Dataset: A Review of Workforce Trends, National Workforce Registry Alliance).

 

Interesting Facts: Maine

  • There are 180 child
    care directors, 265
    elementary principals,
    and 260 family child care
    providers in the state.

  • Thomas College offers a
    bachelor’s degree in early
    childhood management.

  • The state early childhood
    workforce registry meets
    the National Workforce
    Registry Alliance
    PER guidelines.