Quality for ME is Maine's child care quality rating and improvement system, historically run by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services through its Office of Child and Family Services. It used a step scale built on licensing, and Maine has been revising how it measures quality — so treat any older rating as one input.
If you are comparing daycares in Maine and run into the name Quality for ME, this guide explains what it measured, who oversees child care quality now, how to confirm a program's standing, and how a rating connects to cost and subsidy — so you can use it as one input, not the whole decision. The system was administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS), within the broader structure the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Care sets for states.
Quality for ME is Maine's child care quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), historically administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS). It used a step scale built on licensing to recognize programs that go beyond Maine's minimum standards, per Maine DHHS and the federal ACF Office of Child Care.
A quality rating system does two jobs at once. It rates programs so families can compare them, and it improves programs by pairing higher steps with coaching, training, and resources. Maine adopted this model, like most states, with support from the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administered by the ACF Office of Child Care.
Maine has been redeveloping how it measures and supports child care quality, so the older Quality for ME step a program once held may not reflect its current standing. What has stayed constant is licensing: the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) licenses and monitors child care in Maine. The table below sorts out what each label means.
| Label | What to know |
|---|---|
| Quality for ME | Maine's historical QRIS step rating, built on licensing, that recognized programs exceeding minimum standards. It has been in transition, so a step you see may be dated. |
| Licensing (OCFS) | The mandatory baseline. The Maine DHHS Office of Child and Family Services licenses child care; confirm a program's current license. |
| Accreditation | Optional national recognition, such as NAEYC (the National Association for the Education of Young Children), separate from the state and a useful extra signal. |
Because Maine's quality framework has changed, confirm a program's current license and ask the program directly about any quality rating, rather than relying only on an older Quality for ME step found online.
Start with the license: confirm the program's status with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS), which licenses child care in Maine, and review any compliance history. Treat any older Quality for ME level as one verified data point alongside your own tour, because ratings can lag a program's real, day-to-day conditions by a year or more.
Honest tradeoff. A quality rating is genuinely useful, but Maine's system has been in transition, so a step you see online may be out of date or missing entirely. Use any rating to narrow your list, never to replace a visit and a current license check.
The rating does not set tuition, which each program decides on its own. But in Maine, the state ties added support and, where offered, enhanced reimbursement to quality participation through the Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP), administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), a structure the ACF Office of Child Care encourages under the federal Child Care and Development Fund. For national context, ChildCare Aware of America's 2024 Price of Child Care report put center-based care at roughly $8,000 to $24,000 per year depending on age and state.
For Maine-specific figures, see our daycare cost guide and estimate your own with the cost calculator. If you may qualify for help paying, Maine's Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP) through Maine DHHS is the place to start.
Quality for ME is Maine's child care quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), historically administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS). It used a step scale built on licensing to recognize programs that go beyond minimum standards, per Maine DHHS and the federal ACF Office of Child Care. Maine has been revising its quality-rating approach, so confirm a program's current status.
Maine has been redeveloping how it measures and supports child care quality, so the older Quality for ME rating may not reflect a program's current standing. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) remains the licensing and oversight authority. Check a program's current license status with OCFS and ask the program directly about any quality rating.
Confirm the program's license status with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS), which licenses child care in Maine, and review any compliance history. Because Maine's quality rating has been in transition, treat any older Quality for ME level as one data point and pair it with your own tour.
Not directly through tuition, which each program sets. But Maine ties added support and, where offered, enhanced reimbursement to quality participation through the Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP), administered by Maine DHHS, a structure the ACF Office of Child Care encourages. Center care nationally runs roughly $8,000–$24,000 per year, per ChildCare Aware of America's 2024 Price of Child Care report.
For the full picture in your state, see the Maine daycare guide, which covers licensing, subsidy, and pre-K. Our daycare quality and safety pillar explains accreditation, ratios, and what to look for on a tour.
Comparing how other states rate quality? Read our explainers on Connecticut's QRIS, Delaware Stars, and Louisiana's Quality Start.
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