State of Maine Archives: on Families & Children
Eliot Cutler:
Empower women to succeed at home and at work
Economic security for all Maine women and families is a high priority in my vision for Maine's future. Empowering women to succeed at home and at work is good economics. My administration will focus on many of the issues that impact Maine women and
families, including food insecurity and poverty, domestic violence, access to health care, reproductive health and planning, choice, gender discrimination, equal pay, support for working families, early childhood education, and women in business.
Source: 2014 gubernatorial campaign website, CutlerForMaine.com
Dec 31, 2013
Janet Mills:
More than $12 million to increase pay for childcare workers
We have provided $200 monthly stipends to more than 6,000 childcare workers to encourage them to work in this valuable profession. We are investing another $25 million in federal funds to help renovate, expand, or build new childcare facilities & expand
early childhood education programs. The Speaker of the House has proposed legislation to provide pay increases for childcare workers. I support his proposal. My supplemental budget will include more than $12 million to increase pay for childcare workers.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 10, 2022
Janet Mills:
Budget will fully fund universal free meals in our schools
We all know that students can't learn on an empty stomach. Last year the Legislature got rid of the distinction between paid lunch and free and reduced lunch and asked us to pick up the cost of these school meals once federal funding ended.
I am pleased to announce that my supplemental budget will include money to fully fund universal free meals in our schools. It is time to keep feeding our children good food--more and more of it Maine grown, Maine fished, Maine farmed.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 10, 2022
Paul LePage:
Vetoed right to breast-fed at work
Excerpts from legislation: An Act To Protect Working Mothers Who Breast-feed:
This bill provides that it is unlawful employment discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act for an employer to fail to provide certain workplace accommodations for an employee with a nursing child.
Excerpts from veto message: Maine already protects mothers who breast-feed. This bill adds an additional layer of legal enforcement by allowing multiple avenues to sue businesses both large and small.
Legislative outcome: LD 777 (HP 528) passed Senate 20-14-0; failed House 92-56-3 (2/3 required for veto override)
Source: Maine legislative voting records: LD 777
Jun 26, 2013
Shenna Bellows:
Ran micro-credit program for Women in Development
In 2001 and 2002, Bellows was a Program Associate at Community IMPACT! in Nashville, TN, launching neighborhood-based, youth-centered programming in economically and racially diverse neighborhoods.
From 1999 to 2001 she served in the Peace Corps in Panama, where she facilitated the development and execution of a micro-credit lending program for artisan groups and also served as the Co-President of Women in Development/Gender and Development.
Source: Maine Humanities Council biography, mainehumanities.org
Nov 14, 2013
Zak Ringelstein:
Commit to fully funding disability programs
America has made progress with people with disabilities through legislation like the Americans With Disabilities Act, but it isn't enough. With 80% of Americans with disabilities unemployed, it is our obligation to re-envision an America where people
with disabilities thrive as members of a community with jobs. With funds drying up for housing, care, and services, we must commit to fully funding programs at the Department of Health and Human Services so that we can value every life equally.
Source: 2018 Me. Senate campaign website, RingelsteinForMaine.com
Jun 26, 2018
Zak Ringelstein:
Families are the backbones to society and need full support
Families are the backbones of our schools and our communities. We must give families every support possible to ensure we can stay together, be healthy, eat meals together, celebrate each other's joys, and raise up citizens who contribute to
American progress. We need to provide top-notch healthcare, better education, and be more supportive with family leave policies and childcare subsidies.
Source: 2018 Me. Senate campaign website, RingelsteinForMaine.com
Jun 26, 2018
David Costello:
Provide universal pre-kindergarten and aftercare
- Provide universal pre-kindergarten and aftercare.
- Expand workforce training and apprenticeships.
- Increase performance-aligned resources for our schools, colleges, students, and teachers.
Source: 2024 Maine Senate campaign website CostelloForSenate.com
Jul 24, 2023
Demi Kouzounas:
It's child sexual abuse to teach kids multiple genders
Education: Limit teaching of issues around racism and gender identity?Demi Kouzounas (R): Yes. Was state Republican party chair when the party proposed a ban on presenting "sexually-based material" to students before the
12th grade and defined teaching biological genders other than male and female as "child sexual abuse."
Angus King (I): No. Supported a project offering resources to LGBTQ youth for mental health and suicide prevention.
Source: Guides.vote candidate survey on 2024 Maine Senate race
Sep 9, 2024
Janet Mills:
No child should have to learn on an empty stomach
In 2021, we also passed nation-leading legislation to ensure that no Maine child goes hungry during the school day. I am now proposing another
$6 million--for a total of $126 million over the biennium--to continue this popular program so that no child tries to learn on an empty stomach.
Source: 2025 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Jan 28, 2025
Page last updated: Mar 14, 2026