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Congratulations and thank you to the Bangor City Council for its recent decision to spend $1.5 million of the city’s federal pandemic relief funding to preserve and expand child care.
The Bangor Daily News has given solid coverage to the issue of how, post-pandemic, the lack of affordable and accessible high-quality child care has become one of Maine’s major workforce development barriers. In fact, according to a recent ReadyNation report, the current and ongoing child care crisis is costing Maine’s economy an estimated $403 million a year.
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce and our business leaders have been sounding the alarm on child care challenges in recent years, and we are pleased that the city of Bangor has begun to address this crisis in this major way.
Given the council’s actions, the Penquis Community Action Program will receive $1.5 million in federal relief funds to help create a child care center in Bangor that will consolidate four of Penquis CAP’s existing child care centers. The new facility will both save the organization from anticipated rising lease costs and increase the number of children it can serve from 128 to 144.
Child care is a very worthy investment and use of federal relief funds granted to municipalities. It is my hope that other communities will follow Bangor’s wise decision.
Simon West
Government affairs specialist
Maine State Chamber of Commerce
Gardiner