Section 148-30-1 - PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONSA.PurposeMaine's Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement System is designed to:
Increase early childhood educators' regular pay through monthly salary supplements; Incentivize continuing education of the early childhood workforce; and Raise the overall quality of care for young children. The Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement System is funded and administered by Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS). The Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement program is a system that provides salary supplements to early childhood educators who provide direct services to children in a child care facility licensed under 22 M.R.S. § 8301-A (2) or a family child care provider licensed under 22 M.R.S. § 8301-A (3). Any salary supplement funding provided by the department under this Rule to a child care facility or family child care provider must be paid by that child care facility or family child care provider to eligible facility or provider employees in order to increase salaries for any early childhood educator who provides direct child care services to children.
This rule applies to any child care program licensed under 22 M.R.S. § 8301-A. This is not a licensing rule. This rule:
Outlines procedures for Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplements, including 3 tiers based on education and experience; Explains how a licensed program must enroll in the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement System; and Describes how licensed programs can appeal from Department decisions regarding Overpayments and Underpayments. B.DefinitionsFor purposes of this rule, the following terms have the following meanings:
1.Administrative Errors means errors caused solely by the Department.2.Career Lattice means Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network's Career Lattice which awards levels of achievements to persons based on training and employment history or earned credentials. Refer to: https://mrtq.org/registry/3.Child or Children means a person or persons under the age of thirteen (13).4.Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) means the federally funded, State-administered program that provides assistance to low-income families who need child care due to work, work-related training, and/or attending school.5.Child Care Facility as defined at 22 M.R.S. § 8301-A(1-A) (B).6.Compliance Monitoring means the Department's review of required documentation, including Payroll Records, for compliance with this rule.7.Department means the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS).8.Department-approved means consent by the CCDF State Child Care Administrator or his/her designee.9.Direct Services to Children means the providing of care, education, protection, supervision, or guidance to children.10.Director means a person with primary responsibility for administering an Early Care and Education Program and ultimate supervisory authority over any Child Care Staff Members. A Director may or may not be a Program Owner.11.Early Care and Education means the care, education, protection, supervision, and guidance of Children from birth through school age.12.Early Care and Education Program (Program) means, for purposes of this rule, a licensed Family Child Care Provider, or licensed Child Care Facility.13.Early Childhood Educator (Educator) means an individual: a. Who is employed by a Child Care Facility or Family Child Care for compensation, including an owner, a contract employee, or self-employed individual; andb. Whose activities involve Direct Services to Children.14.Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement Payment (Salary Supplement) means the individual salary supplement paid monthly to each Early Childhood Educator by a Program Owner from the Salary Supplement Funding provided by the Department under this rule.15.Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement System means the program established in 22 M.R.S. § 3737-A and implemented by this rule.16.Family Child Care Provider as defined at 22 M.R.S. § 8301-A(1-A) (C).17.License means written permission by the Department, whether initial, renewal, temporary, or conditional, that authorizes a person to be a Family Child Care Provider or operate a Child Care Facility.18.Maine Roads to Quality (MRTQ) Professional Development Network (PDN) Registry means an on-line portal that uses a member's work, education, and training histories, along with any professional credentials, to assign a level on the appropriate Career Lattice. MRTQ PDN Registry consists of a partnership between the Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine, the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, and the Maine Afterschool Network.19.Overpayment means when the amount paid exceeds the amount that would have been paid if the Early Care Educator Workforce Salary Supplement Payment had been calculated correctly based on information submitted in the Registry Portal, verified, and acted on in a timely manner.20.Payroll Records means documentation associated with paying individual employees. Payroll Records includes, but is not limited to, direct deposit authorization forms and paystubs that shows itemization of the Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement Payment being paid to individual Early Childhood Educators.21.Program Owner means a person with any ownership interest in a licensed Family Child Care or Child Care Facility or whose name appears on any license issued by the Department for the Program.22.Registration Portal means the website that provides registration information for individual Early Care and Education Program's Salary Supplement Funding details.23.Salary Supplement Funding means a monthly payment by the Department to an Early Care and Education Program equal to each of the Program's employees' Salary Supplement Payment for the previous month, and which must be paid by the Program to increase wages for each employee who provides direct services to children.24.State Child Care Administrator means the person in the Department responsible for administering the CCDF grant.25.Underpayment means when the amount paid is less than the amount that would have been paid if the Early Care Educator Workforce Salary Supplement Payment had been calculated correctly based on information submitted in the Registration Portal, verified, and acted on in a timely manner.26.Volunteer means a person who helps or provides services without compensation in an Early Care and Education Program.10-148 C.M.R. ch. 30, § 1