$470,000 for Adoption and Early Childhood Support Services Secured by Senator Collins

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $470,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for requests to support adoption services and early childhood intervention in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.   Congress has passed the bill, and the President has signed it into law.  

“This funding will help to increase access to early childhood services for Maine families and provide support for kinship caregivers,” said Senator Collins.  “As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this vital funding for families and at-risk youth in the Bangor area.” 

Funding secured by Senator Collins for childhood and foster services in the FY24 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill is as follows:

Kinship Caregiver Support Management System

Recipient: Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, Inc. 

Project Location: Bangor, ME 

Amount Secured: $100,000 

Project Purpose: To support technology upgrades to meet national child welfare clearing house standards. 

United Way Early Childhood Intervention Program

Recipient: Heart of Maine United Way 

Project Location: Bangor, ME 

Amount Secured: $370,000 

Project Purpose: To expand an early childhood intervention program. 

This funding is part of the 231 targeted investments Senator Collins secured through the FY2024 appropriations process, driving more than $577 million to the state for projects throughout each of Maine’s 16 counties.

In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending. Following this decision, Senator Collins secured more than $500 million for hundreds of Maine projects for FY2022 and FY2023.  As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities.

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