Nearly $500,000 for Adoption and Early Childhood Support Services Advanced by Senator Collins in Funding Bill
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she advanced $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. The bill, which was officially approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee today, now awaits consideration by the full Senate and House.
“This funding would help to increase access to early childhood services for Maine families and provide support for kinship caregivers,” said Senator Collins. “As the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to advocate for this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”
Funding advanced 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 Requested: $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 Requested: $370,000
Project Purpose: To expand an early childhood intervention program.
This funding advanced through the Committee’s markup of the FY24 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill—an important step that now allows the bill to be considered by the full Senate. Committee consideration of legislation is a key part of regular order, which helps our government function efficiently and deliver results for the people of Maine and America.
In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending. Following this decision, Senator Collins has secured more than $500 million for hundreds of Maine projects for FY2022 and FY2023. As the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities.
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