Provision of Child Care Services for United 4 Child Care’s first center at 236 Gannett Drive, South Portland, ME 04106.
The United 4 Child Care (U4CC) Board of Directors is pleased to invite community organizations to submit a proposal to operate the proposed child care center in South Portland, ME. U4CC is committed to developing a child care facility that meets the needs of Southern Maine families and employers, particularly those who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed (ALICE). The goal for this project is to have a licensed, 24-hour child care facility operational by September 2025.
United 4 Child Care: Context & Overview
In the spring of 2023 United Way of Southern Maine, in partnership with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, began convening local business leaders to explore the question, “What role can businesses play in mitigating the child care crisis for Southern Maine employees?” This group of stakeholders chose to form a new nonprofit, United 4 Child Care, with a goal of creating access to 400 additional high-quality child care slots over the next 5 years, using a public/private partnership model.
U4CC was established for the purpose of advancing quality affordable child care in Maine communities. This long-term vision includes bringing people into the child care workforce, retaining current child care professionals, providing training and support for educators, supporting the child care ecosystem with technical assistance, back-office support, and other services, as well as increasing the number of high-quality child care slots in our community. In addition to the goal of meeting the needs of Southern Maine families and employers, one of the primary goals of U4CC is to strengthen the early childhood education and care system.
Model & Design
The local businesses who collaborated to launch U4CC, as well as the organization’s Board of Directors, uphold the following components as essential to the success of its South Portland child care center.
Compensation
U4CC teachers will have a compensation package, including both salary and benefits, aligned with public school educators and technicians. A lead teacher’s starting salary would be $48,000 while a supporting teacher’s starting salary would be $40,000.
Center Demographics
U4CC South Portland is designed to serve 78 children during the daytime hours, and 16 children in the evening and overnight hours. Our intent is that half of all children served at the center come from households that are eligible for the State of Maine’s Child Care Affordability Program. Additionally, we intend for approximately half of the center’s slots to be filled by employees of partner organizations. These are not mutually exclusive objectives. In this way, we can assist ALICE families and help our local employers to attract and retain employees.
Classroom Breakdown
The breakdown of children across classrooms and age groups is drafted below but may vary based on the developing architectural and engineering design of the center. All classrooms will be enrolled in accordance with Maine State Child Care Licensing Regulations.
| Enrollment | Number of Children | Enrollment |
| Infants (6 weeks-18 months) | 16 | 2 |
| Toddler I (18 months – 2.5 years) | 20 | 2 |
| Toddler II (2.5 years – 3.5 years) | 13 | 1 |
| Preschool (3-4 years) | 16 | 1 |
| School Age (5-10 years) | 13 | 1 |
| Total daytime | 78 | 7 |
| (Evening classrooms) Mixed Age | 16 | 2 |
Hours of Operation
The daytime hours of U4CC South Portland will be 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the evening hours will be 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. This framework is designed to meet the needs of parents and caregivers that have extended shifts or work in the overnight hours.
Ongoing Business Support
U4CC South Portland will work with local corporate partners to solidify annual contributions that subsidize the cost of care for Child Care Affordability Program eligible households. Ongoing financial support from local businesses is designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of U4CC South Portland.
Proposal Submission Guidance
This will be a two-step submission process. After reviewing this Request for Proposal, please submit an initial letter of intent, no more than 200 words, that describes the community partner’s desire to submit a full proposal to operate and lead U4CC South Portland. This letter of intent should be sent electronically to Rebecca Alfredson by close of business on Friday February 7, 2025.
Upon the submission of a letter of intent, applicants will receive the following attachments as they draft a formal final proposal for greater detail relating to U4CC South Portland’s design and business model:
- U4CC South Portland Proforma Overview
- Draft floor plans for 236 Gannett Dr.
Final proposals should be emailed to Rebecca Alfredson by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 14th in .pdf format. Interested community partners are requested to submit a comprehensive proposal containing the following information:
| Category | Information Sought |
| Organization Background | An overview of the applicant’s current organization including the mission. |
| Experience & Educational Philosophy | Please detail the organization’s experience working with young children (infants – 10 years old). What philosophical beliefs about early learning guide the applicant’s work with children and their families? Please provide examples of what this work looks like in practice. |
| Data | Provide a robust body of data, qualitative and/or quantitative, that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to successfully lead a high-quality child care facility. Additionally, explain your approach to collecting data. How and why do you collect data in your ongoing work? |
| Equity Commitment & Demographics | Outline the student and family demographics that the applicant has worked with in the past. How has this informed the applicant’s commitment to equity, and high-quality learning opportunities for all students and families? |
| Curriculum & Quality | What do high-quality early learning opportunities look like to you? How do you design and measure the quality of those learning opportunities? What curriculum(s) have you implemented in the past? |
| Alignment | Explain why the applicant is well suited to apply to lead and operate United 4 Child Care South Portland. What elements align well with your current work, and in what ways will the organization need to shift? Are there elements of United 4 Child Care that you believe would need to adjust? If so, what are those? |
| Community Centered Approach | Describe if and how you collaborate with community partners in your current work. How does taking a community-centered approach impact children and families? |
Evaluation and Selection Process
Upon receiving the proposals, the U4CC Board of Directors will evaluate and score the proposals aligned to the criteria outlined above. The point values associated with each category are as follows:
| Number | Point Value | Factor Description |
| 1 | 4-point scale | Organization Background |
| 2 | 4-point scale | Experience & Educational Philosophy |
| 3 | 4-point scale | Data |
| 4 | 4-point scale | Equity Commitment & Demographics |
| 5 | 4-point scale | Curriculum & Quality |
| 6 | 4-point scale | Alignment |
| 7 | 4-point scale | Community Centered Approach |
| Total Possible Points | 28 Points |
Should you have any questions or require further clarification, please contact Rebecca Alfredson at ralfredson@uwsme.org. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to receiving your proposal.