Betsey Grant, who operates Tiny Tikes Daycare in Trenton, has been engaged in an ongoing battle with the state of Maine to receive overdue payments for her work with foster children. Such frustrations are not unique to her, as recent legislative actions have prompted an investigation into the delays by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services in reimbursing child care providers who serve foster children.
Senator Jeff Timberlake voiced his concerns, stating, “We expect these people to take in these foster children, give them daycare, change their diapers, feed them, take care of them, and yet we are not paying them in a timely manner.” Timberlake criticized the system’s lack of punctual payments, emphasizing the instability this causes for foster children.
Grant found herself in a bureaucratic nightmare, involving lengthy emails, numerous phone calls, and intervention by several lawmakers to recover approximately $30,000 that the state owed her for taking care of numerous foster children. Representative Nina Milliken criticized the Department’s lack of supportive action when Grant threatened closure due to insufficient funding.
Between 2019 and 2023, Tiny Tikes cared for more than 50 foster children. The Maine Monitor reported that despite state reimbursements of around $130,000 from September 2022 to August 2024, several invoices remained unpaid for months, totaling about $30,000. Attempts to clarify the situation with DHHS proved difficult, as the department struggled to verify the number of foster children enrolled at Tiny Tikes.
State communications revealed excuses pertaining to missing invoice information, a departed caseworker, or waiting for administrative approval. This led an employee to apologize for the extensive communication required from Grant to resolve the issues. Grant speculated, “What would have happened to that money if I hadn’t been nagging about it like that?”
Maine’s child care system is in crisis, mirroring national trends, with dwindling provider numbers and long waitlists. The state has roughly 5,000 baby care spots for the 10,000 to 12,000 births each year. For children in foster care, the challenges are even more pronounced, with limited providers willing to accept them.
Frustrations over delayed reimbursements have plagued the state’s child care providers, some of whom faced payment delays of several months or have ceased billing altogether. Lawmakers acknowledged these tensions and ordered an inquiry by the Government Oversight Committee into the department’s slow payment practices.
Data from The Maine Monitor highlighted that the state paid around $13.5 million to licensed child care providers caring for foster children between September 2022 and August 2024. However, delays have created significant challenges for these providers, who are already operating on razor-thin margins.
Addressing these systemic issues has proven challenging, as seen in DHHS’s response to information requests, which they stated would take years to fulfill due to the extensive records involved. Senator Timberlake criticized the department’s organizational deficiencies, highlighting the need for improvements.
Child care providers like Kaitie Gilmor, who runs Laugh and Learn Academy, have faced months-long waits for payments. Committed to providing foster children with care regardless of payment problems, Gilmor expressed her frustration over the state’s current system, suggesting it has reached a breaking point for her business.
Many providers are struggling due to the state’s outdated and cumbersome process for submitting and approving care reimbursements. This process, particularly burdensome for small, home-based centers, requires multiple approvals before any reimbursement is made. The state’s new software system, Katahdin, has been criticized for inefficiencies and difficulties despite being a recent multi-million dollar investment.
Senator Timberlake suggested that technology is not the sole culprit, pointing to the fact that multiple daycares have experienced payment issues. Providers have routinely encountered roadblocks with stepwise submissions, and some, like Melanie Blair, have found themselves repeatedly contacting DHHS to resolve payment discrepancies.
Efforts to revamp the payment structure are underway, but progress has been slow. For those engaged directly with the foster system, last-minute changes can often catch providers by surprise. Daycares can unwittingly continue billing the state for services that should fall under parental responsibility once children are reunified with their families.
In response, DHHS has begun attempts to centralize payments and establish clear contact points for foster parents beset by payment problems. Providers like Nichole Johnson, who have stopped taking in foster children due to financial burdens and administrative negligence, have started reconsidering their viability under current conditions.
Numerous daycare operators have expressed their desire to help foster children but find themselves unable to continue under the weight of financial losses and administrative inefficiency. Without necessary changes, the future of foster childcare looks increasingly grim, with providers like Laurie Harmon unwilling to continue once existing engagements conclude.
The urgency for DHHS to rectify and streamline its payment processes is high, with providers who, despite their passion and commitment, find themselves questioning the sustainability of their operations in a landscape plagued by delayed state support.
