United 4 Child Care cut the ribbon this week on a new care facility in South Portland, the first of two new centers the organization will open in Cumberland County over the next few months.
The 8,000-square-foot site is at 236 Gannett Drive.
A second location of 11,790 square feet will open in Freeport, at 2 Stonewood Drive. It is projected to open in May or June.
United 4 Child Care is an initiative sponsored by United Way of Southern Maine that fosters collaboration with local partners, including the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The nonprofit aims to create 400 child care slots in southern Maine over the next five years, with an emphasis on serving households that are “asset limited, income constrained and employed,” or ALICE, according to Dan Coyne, president and CEO of United Way of Southern Maine.
“Today, 37% of southern Maine households are ALICE,” Coyne said. “Despite working hard, sometimes at multiple jobs, ALICE families live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to afford the basics, including child care.”
“These challenges are even greater for single parents,” Coyne added. “In southern Maine, 74% of single women with children are ALICE.”
Corporate partners in the initiative are L.L.Bean, MaineHealth, Northern Light, Maine Beer Co. and Zachau Construction.
Both the Freeport and South Portland centers will have a licensed capacity of 90 children.
“We opened enrollment for both centers at once so families could indicate interest in both,” said Coyne. “In the first two weeks, we received more than 150 enrollment inquiries. The internal team is now reaching out to families to offer slots based on age and availability.”
Long term, the nonprofit aims to strengthen the child care ecosystem by supporting the workforce and filling operational gaps through shared services such as substitute teacher pools, employee benefits, training resources and administrative or technical assistance for providers.
“Child care is essential infrastructure, and we need bold, collaborative approaches to meet the needs of today’s families and employers,” Coyne said. “United 4 Child Care reflects what is possible when partners think creatively, listen to providers, and build solutions designed for long-term impact.”
Families interested in enrolling in one of the two sites can find more details on the United 4 Child Care website.
