Governor nominates Windham resident for new Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority board

Maine Gov. Janet Mills has nominated 11 individuals to serve on the board of the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority and one of the individuals she nominated is from Windham.

Christopher K. Washburn
of Windham is the Manager
of Benefits and Leave
Administration at Retail
Business Services for
Delhaize America and
has  been nominated to 
serve on the board of the
Maine Paid Family and
Medical Leave Benefits
Authority.
COURTESY PHOTO
   

Created as part of the statewide paid family and medical leave program signed into law by the governor last July, the 15-member Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority is responsible for overseeing the implementation and administration of the new program that will make available 12 weeks of paid time off to eligible public and private sector workers.

"I am proud to nominate each of these qualified individuals to serve on the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority,” Mills said. "I am confident that each will work hard to ensure that Maine's new Paid Family and Medical Leave Program serves its intended purpose of helping Maine people deal with life's unexpected challenges while accommodating potential hardships for Maine employers."

Among the governor's nominees is Christopher K. Washburn of Windham.

Washburn has served as Manager, Benefits and Leave Administration at Retail Business Services, Delhaize America since 2010. He previously supervised employee benefits at Hannaford Bros Co./Delhaize America from 2004 to 2010. He has extensive background in benefits and leave of absence administration design.

According to Mills, Washburn has been nominated to serve in the Authority seat reserved for a member with expertise in issues related to paid family leave benefits and paid medical leave benefits.

Each of the governor's appointments is subject to review by the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Labor and Housing and Confirmation by the Maine Senate and each appointment is for a three-year term.

In addition to the 11 Authority members appointed by the governor, four seats on the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority are reserved for the Commissioner of Labor or a designee; the State Controller or a designee; the Commissioner of Professional and Financial Regulation or a designee; and an employee of the Department of Health & Human Services with expertise in foster care and adoption.

The Maine Department of Labor has announced that Luke Monahan has been hired to serve as Director of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program. Monahan, a Maine native, most recently served as the Associate Director for the Division of Disability Determination Services with the Department of Health and Human Services, an office that was tasked with making the medical determinations of the Social Security Disability Insurance program. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Northeastern University.

"As someone who has worked with people with disabilities and marginalized populations for my whole career, as a working parent, and as the son of small business owner, I understand the importance of building a streamlined, transparent, and effective program for the Maine people," Monahan said.

Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said she looks forward to working with the talented people nominated to the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Authority and Monahan.

"There is much work to be done before the program is fully implemented in 2026, and I encourage everyone to engage in the process through the upcoming listening sessions," Fortman said.

Payroll contributions for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program begin January 1, 2025. Benefits will be available beginning in 2026.

Beginning May 1, 2026, Maine’s new paid family leave law will allow Maine employees to take up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave benefits over a one-year period.

Its benefits will be financed by a mandatory “premium” based on employee wages of up to 1 percent, to be split evenly between employee and employer, with each bearing a maximum burden of 0.5 percent of weekly wages as a premium. Maine employers with fewer than 15 employees will not be subject to the payment of the employer’s portion of the premium, though they will still be obliged to collect and remit the employee portion. While coverage starts May 1, 2026, Maine employers and employees will initially begin paying the 1 percent premium beginning on Jan. 1, 2025.

The program will be administered by the Maine Department of Labor and will cover virtually all employees in Maine, including public employees except for employees of the federal government. Self-employed Mainers will have the option of voluntarily participating in the program,

Up-to-date information on the new Paid Family and Medical Leave Program, its rulemaking process, and upcoming listening sessions is available at /labor/pfml/. <

Governor promotes childcare expansion during visit to Windham

Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks with Tabitha
Cummings, the director/owner of the
Creative Exploration Child Development
Center during a visit to the facility in
Windham on May 18. Mills toured the
center and spoke with staff and parents 
about the effort to expand quality, 
affordable childcare for Maine children
and their parents.
PHOTO BY COLLETTE HAYES  

By Collette Hayes

Maine Gov. Janet Mills is making historic investments in accessible childcare in Maine, including the first-ever Child Care Plan for Maine developed by the Office of Child and Family Services that invests about $120 million in American Rescue Plan funds to help Maine’s childcare system recover and to improve childcare quality, accessibility and affordability over the long term.

Mills visited the Creative Explorations Child Development Center in Windham on May 18 in Windham to promote the importance of expanding childcare in Maine. Whether because of affordability, accessibility or offering a quality early childhood educational program, childcare challenges are driving parents out of the workforce at an alarming rate. In 2021, 700,000 parents were out of the workforce due to the challenges of finding childcare. In addition to that unsettling statistic, in the last year there has been a notable 144 percent increase in the number of parents who have missed work to care for children.

The Maine Department of Labor has identified the lack of affordable childcare as a barrier that prevents parents from entering and staying in the workforce. To tackle the problem, Mills said she’s investing $25 million through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, approved by the Maine Legislature, to help renovate, expand or build new childcare facilities and expand early childhood education programs.

Last month the Governor also signed into law a supplemental budget that will deliver $200 monthly stipends to more than 7,000 childcare workers across Maine, continuing stipends that her administration began providing last year as part of a larger effort to attract and retain people to work in this valuable profession.

“Maine’s current and future workforce depends on accessible, affordable childcare. Not only do working parents need a safe place to send their kids during the day, but research shows that successful early care and education programs can boost academic outcomes and even high school graduation rates,” Mills said. “With our new budget and my Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, we are expanding access to childcare and giving working families what they need to provide healthy, safe care for their kids that allows them to go to work, bring home a paycheck and strengthen our economy.”

Creative Explorations Child Development Center received more than $23,000 in economic recovery grants from the Mills Administration to help it sustain operations during the pandemic, and now its 19 staff are receiving $200 monthly stipends. During her visit, Mills met with the staff and children at the facility and discussed her administration’s efforts to expand quality, affordable childcare for Maine children and their parents.

“Being a grandmother of five children, preschool through kindergarten, I know how difficult it is for parents to find quality affordable childcare,” said Mills.

“Childcare has three challenges, physical space, number of teachers and training, she said. “The two-year stipends that we are providing for tuition to the community colleges for early childhood specialists and childcare workers is helping to meet these challenges. Also, some federal funding we receive will go toward the expansion of childcare facilities.”

Leading a guided tour for the governor, Tabitha Cummings, the owner and director of Creative Exploration’s Child Development Center, consistently pointed out how Creative Explorations offers a unique approach to early childhood education by fostering and developing curiosity and creativity in a child’s early years of development as well as providing a safe and happy learning environment. 

“We started Creative Explorations 12 years ago with a very small preschool. The preschool was originally intended for 13 children and 2 teachers, but as we established a community our families grew in need of toddler care and infant care, so we started expanding,” said Cummings. “We moved to our Windham location and started in just half of the building and then began to expand from there. We are now serving 85 children from infant to toddler, preschool, and school age children.  It is important to provide quality, safe childcare for all of these children. With some of the funds we received, we installed outdoor sinks so the children can wash their hands before and after they eat. Also, we bought indoor/outdoor mats for the children allowing the children to nap inside as well as outside in the fresh air during the warmer weather.”

Mills said there will be other state funding available when the American Rescue Funds run out.

“The bipartisan budget just passed unanimously in the provisions committee, unanimously in the Senate and nearly unanimously in the House of Representatives,” said Mills. “It includes general funds monies to continue those stipends. It’s not all federal funds. Federal funds are useful particularly for one-time expenditures to build, for instance, a physical plant not necessarily for ongoing expenses, but we’re doing both.” <

Kick Off Day begins the 200th anniversary and year-long celebration of Maine’s statehood

Sen. Bill Diamond, Gov. Janet Mills, Portland Mayor
Ethan Strimling

By Matt Pascarella

Governor Janet Mills joined the Maine Bicentennial Commission, a committee in charge of planning and coordinating programs in celebration of the 200^th anniversary of Maine voting to leave Massachusetts. The events launched the commemoration of the State of Maine’s bicentennial at four communities across the state on Tuesday, July 30, 2019. Governor Mills and the Commission, of which Senator Bill Diamond is the Chairman, visited Presque Isle, Bangor, Portland and Augusta. 

They raised the bicentennial flag, dedicated commemorative pine groves and announced programs

and events for Maine’s 200th anniversary of Statehood.

As stated in the recent press release, “Bicentennial Kickoff Day coincides with the 200th anniversary of the affirmative vote to separate the District of Maine from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in July of 1819.”

Mayor Ethan Strimling opened the Portland ceremony, which took place in Deering Oaks Park. “As we celebrate our 200 years of history it’s important we recognize all of those who have come to build our state and those who will come in the future...we would not be as strong as we are today if not for
everyone that’s come here.”

Senator Bill Diamond spoke shortly after and began by thanking members of the Bicentennial Commission for all the time and work they have put in. Diamond mentioned some of the spectacular events that would be happening in 2020 all around the state; including the arrival of the tall ships, parades and the sealing of the time capsule.

He added that the goal of the Commission was, “To provide communities, cities and towns with resources so they can put together their own celebrations.” Money has been raised and communities can apply for community grants. Senator Diamond added the Commission wants to fund as many as they can. “We’re really looking forward to making this the celebration that it should be, 200 years; and we’re going to try and do it just as right as we can.”

Governor Mills, Senator Diamond and Mayor Strimling then each grabbed their shovels and dedicated commemorative pine groves.

Governor Janet Mills spoke next and stated she was honored to join the Bicentennial Commission chair, Bill Diamond, Mayor Strimling and so many other in launching the commemoration of Maine’s 200^th anniversary statehood. “Maine has a proud and storied history and our bicentennial offers us the opportunity to recommit ourselves to the values that shaped us as a state and as a people,” Governor Mills declared. “This unique place we call home offers so much to so many. “Maine is not just about
natural beauty...but it’s about its people. For more than 200 years sons and daughters of Maine with courage in their souls and kindness in their hearts...have built this state and lead the nation.” Maine is made up of all kinds of people “they make Maine as great as it is.”

A few facts about Maine:

*Maine was the 23^rd state to join the Union and did so in 1820.

*With its 16 counties, 3,500 miles of coastline and 17 million acres of forest, the Pine Tree state is a place many are proud to call home.

*Some famous Mainers include author Stephen King, actress Anna Kendrick, author E.B. White, actor Patrick Dempsey and Olympic athlete Joan Benoit Samuelson as well as children’s singer/songwriter Rick Charette (just to name a very small amount).

According to the website roadsideamerica.com:

*Bangor claims to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. A titan-size statue in the city is one of the largest in the country, rivaled only by Akeley, Minnesota, reminding Bangor residents of their connection to this character of American legend.

*Portland is home to the International Cryptozoology Museum, showcasing Yetis, Bigfoots and other well-known oddities. It’s located by Thompson’s Point in Portland.

“Wherever you go, whatever you do, whomever you are with, tell them about the great place you come from...we will always greet you with a hearty hug and a ‘welcome home,’” concluded Governor Mills.

The Sebago Lakes Region communities are making their plans for Maine’s bicentennial celebrations,
including right here in Windham. Some upcoming events include:

• A kick-off event in October 2019 – possibly in conjunction with the widely attended Public Safety Fair – that helps “get the party started”
• A celebration in March 2020 that commemorates the date that Maine became a state. The Windham Public Library will likely host a Bicentennial themed tea with birthday cake or some other type of birthday party type event

·       Summerfest 2020 will have the bicentennial as the theme and there will be a Windham History bus tour is in the works for Summerfest as well. For more information on Maine’s milestone and events happening throughout the year please visit www.maine200.org.