10-144-330 Me. Code R. § 4
The type, amount, and frequency of services are individualized based on the unmet needs of the Participants.
Navigation services are offered to all Participants at no cost to the Participant and provided on a voluntary basis through a contracted Agent selected and secured by the Department. Navigation services are based on individual need and requested assistance to promote persistence and completion. While the Agent is providing Student Navigation as a support to assist Participants in advancing in their Training or Education pursuits, their service does not replace Department and Participant responsibility.
The Agent will provide campus-based Navigation services to Participants. The Department's Agent will have access to Participant information necessary to contact and support Participants throughout their enrollment in HOPE. The Department's Agent will be bound by the same confidentiality standards as the Department. Agents of the Department providing Navigation services are responsible only for providing those services as outlined in the contract between the Agent and the Department. The Department's Agent is not responsible for-
The following financial supports will be available to the Participant based on unmet need when the supports are necessary to maintain uninterrupted participation in the approved program. When excluded income sources are actually used by process, choice, or law, to pay for an otherwise reimbursable expense, the portion of the expense paid with excluded income is then considered to be met and is not subject to reimbursement.
The Department will pay outstanding and current tuition and mandatory fees.
Participants in the HOPE Program must remain in good financial standing with the institution providing the Training or Education Program.
The HOPE Program will pay for suitable child care at a rate equal to or less than the child care Market Rate cap, as set by the Department's Office of Child and Family Services, when the service is necessary for the Participant to engage in Training or Education activities or a combination of Training or Education and employment activities. Required child care hours will include three (3) hours for study for each hour of instruction per week. These study hours do not have to be scheduled or supervised study hours; as long as the Participant is satisfactorily participating in the Training or Education activity, the study hours are automatically allowed. On a case-by-case basis, child care payment for children with special needs can exceed the child care Market Rate cap, as determined by the Department. The Department will authorize child care payments when:
EXCEPTION: Participants who complete their programs of studies will continue to receive ongoing child care supports through the end of the calendar month of program completion.
There is a HOPE Program weekly limit of one hundred forty dollars ($140) for transportation necessary for Participants to engage in Training or Education activities or a combination of Training or Education and employment activities. This transportation includes travel to and from child care. Effective March 1, 2024, mileage will be paid at the State of Maine mileage reimbursement rate set by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services Office of the State Controller found at https://www.maine.gov/ocs/travel/mileage-other-info for the most direct route up to the weekly limit. Participants using their own vehicles must have a valid Maine driver's license, an active vehicle registration, and valid, minimum of current liability insurance. Transportation supports will be provided for:
There is a HOPE Program annual limit of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per Participant for required books, supplies, tools, equipment, uniforms or similar Training or Education-related items. A Participant will be eligible for such support provided-
There is a HOPE Program lifetime limit of five hundred dollars ($500) per Participant for the repair, upgrade to, or purchase of a computer or software necessary for completion of the Participant's Training or Education Program when it is demonstrated that there is no availability of sustained access to technology or software for use at the participant's home. Purchase of a computer can occur when evidence is provided that no computer owned or available to the Participant at their home is adequate to meet the requirements set forth by their program of study or can be repaired or upgraded to do so. Upon purchase, the item becomes property of the Participant and the responsibility to replace or repair the item- if stolen, damaged, or lost- is the Participant's. The Department will authorize payments for technology and software when-
There is a HOPE Program monthly limit of fifty dollars ($50) per Participant for access to the Internet when:
There is a HOPE Program annual limit of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per Participant for the inspection, registration and repair of a vehicle. These supports will be issued for the vehicle used by the Participant, or their spouse, while engaged in approved Training or Education activities. The Department will authorize payments necessary for the safe and legal operation of the vehicle under the following conditions:
There is a HOPE Program annual limit of six hundred dollars ($600) per Participant for the cost of the minimum liability insurance required by Maine law on the vehicle used by the Participant, or their spouse, while engaged in approved Training or Education activities. The vehicle operator must have a valid Maine driver's license and current vehicle registration.
In instances where drivers other than the Participant or their spouse are listed on the insurance declaration page, HOPE will only pay that portion of the liability premium which is attributable to the Participant and their spouse.
There is a HOPE Program annual limit of two-hundred dollars ($200) per Participant for the purchase of corrective eyewear when-
There is a HOPE Program lifetime limit of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per Participant for dental care when-
Cosmetic dental work such as veneers and whitening services are not covered.
There is a HOPE Program annual limit of five hundred dollars ($500) per Participant for other Support Services not previously described in this section that are directly related to Training or Education activities and are required to allow the Participant to continue their education without interruption. Eligible support services include-
HOPE will not cover services when-
10-144 C.M.R. ch. 330, § 4