College Programs and Note to all Visitors in Maine and Out of State

 First off we would like to welcome our first follower Camille,
A note to non Mainers including Camille: though many programs are just for Mainers, there are also many national programs listed here.

 Lower income parents of college bound students, did you know that college can be very affordable.
As an example, my son goes to a select private college that offers 100% need based aid. If my son(I;m Michelle) would have gone to the state university, it would have been $20,000 something more!Select schools are usually less expensive because they have larger endowments. Harvard for example offers free scholarships to all admitted students.
"Our new financial aid policy has dramatically reduced the amount families with incomes below $180,000 are expected to pay, and parents of families with incomes below $60,000 are not expected to contribute at all to college costs".http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do
Yes, its extremely difficult to get in, that's why its important for students to apply to several schools.

There are also numerous scholarships programs that many college bound students and their parents simply are not aware of:

Quest Bridge is a national program that offers full scholarships at top notch colleges and universities to very high achieving low income students. Here is the main site:http://www.questbridge.org/Here is the link to the National College Match Program:http://www.questbridge.org/students/program.html
They also have college prep programs:http://www.questbridge.org/cps/info.php

HomeSchooling Supplies Program and Visitor Request

 Hi visitors,
We have a request for you all- to please throw a post in the comment section. Are you looking for info on a particular service? been helped by a program? Know of programs yet to be mentioned ect?
Thanks,
The moderators☺


Are there any homeschoolers or would be homeschoolers out there? In addition to The Maine Children's Scholarship Fund I (Michelle) posted on Oct. 12, there is also The Book Samaritan,a national program, that provides homeschooling materials for homeschooling families in financial need.
http://www.thebooksamaritan.com/p/how-does-it-work.html

Website's for Dad's to

I (Lauren) found these websites on Maine.gove for dad's:
http://www.dadsadventure.com/ This website has many things for first time dads filled with information, articles, video's, a magazine and an ask a dad part.
 http://www.fathers.com/ National Center for fathers
http://www.fathersnetwork.org/ for dads who are raising children with specail health care needs and developmental disabilites.
http://www.slowlane.com/ great site for stay at home dads

WIC not just for mom's

WIC provides information about feeding children, shopping and cooking tips, parenting ideas, recipes and more. We can also help you find resources in your community or area.


You can apply for your children under the age of five and bring them to their appointments. You can be a single dad or a married dad. You can be a working dad - ask your local WIC office about early morning, evening or lunchtime appointments.

This is the link to see all the different locations of WIC offices and contact information
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/wic/locations.htm

Found by Lauren

Penquis Cap

I (Lauren) wanted to let everyone know about different services that Penquis offer because some people do not realize this. There web site is http://www.penquis.org/ and you can also find them on faceboook at www.faebook.com/Penquishelpingtodaybuildingtomorrow.
Here is a list of some services

LiHEAP also know as Low-income Hom Energy Assistance Program this is to help with fuel assistances for families who need it, also if you qualify for this program you could also qualify for the Weatherization Program where they would help improve your home.

Family Development Account (FDA) this is a program where every dollor you save is going towards a purchase of a house, eduction or to start a business and the FDA Coalitin matches it with up to four additional dollars.

Penquis Community and Family supposr case managemtn services are available to help you find resources to help people through difficult times.

Head Start is available for free of charge to income eligibe families and they have different sites though out the state.

Assisted living services are located in Bangor, Millinocket, and Camden, 24 hour attendants in case of an emergency.

Journey House is a transitional housing program for pregnant an parenting young women ages 16-21 who are experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness or are in unsafe living situation. They have 24 hour support, case management, parenting and life skills traning, access to health care, childcare, and educational opportunites as well as job training.

Pathway Project no cost training opportunity will provide green construction skills, with support in apprenticeship, college credit, on job training and job placement support.

Parents are Teachers too, is a home visitng program that provides information, suppot, encouragement and ongoing play groups to first -time parents and teen parents.

Reverse Mortgages to homeowners age 62 and older.

Lynx Transportantion for individuals who need rides to medical and social sercice appointments fees depend on where you reside and where you are going.

Hello visitors!
Just want to mention that The Gear Network here in Maine in addition to offering many parenting classes, (info on those can be found on our event calendar at the bottom of the page, Gear also offers monthly support groups around the state, to discuss  children's behavior and emotional concerns. Child care is provided during the meetings.
 Local groups can be found by clicking on the country in which the town is in.
http://www.gearparentnetwork.com/support/groups/

New Link for Free/Very Low Cost Medical Insurance

 Hi everyone!please note that the search bar at the top of the blog page serves for finding topics. For example, if you are looking fro free  to Very Reduced Fees medical insurance programs, by typing in medical insurance, the posts on that topic will come up.

 I (Michelle)have  added a couple more resources for free/very lost cost medical  insurance programs to the post with Inland Hospital's Free Care Program  so that  the medical insurance programs are together.

Freecycle Network

There is a world wide program called Freecycle.  www.freecycle.org/  is an online message board for  local subgroups all over the world.The rules  for different subgroups may vary slightly-one rule is the same across the board- no money exchanges hands.]
Freecycle is a resource for members regardless of income to be able to request times and to give items if desired or possible. I (Michelle am a members of a few local Freecycle groups. One time, I received a full box of  Mothering Magazines.
 Just one in my local area requires members to post an offer, that is something they would like to give away before they post a request.

Maine Dental Clinics

Is anyone looking for dental care that costs less than typical dental fees.
In Maine, there are several dental clinics that offer reduced fees.
I (Michelle) have gone to the Bangor University College Clinic for cleaning where dental hygienist students work under the supervision of supervisors. I received excellent dental cleaning  there.I live about 45 min. away but even factoring in the gas prices, its much cheaper for me to go there rather than go to a dentist here for a cleaning.
The appts. do take longer than traditional dentist cleaning visits. The students are required to do an extensive question and answer intake. The visits can be broken up into 2 visits instead of just one.
 Here is a Maine state directory of dental clinics.
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/bohdcfh/odh/documents/directoryNov09.pdf


Some dental clinics have income guidelines while others like the Bangor University College Clinic do not.

Events Calendar

Dear visitors, just to point out, there are a couple of parenting workshops going  on in the next few days(evenings).

We here at the blog ask you visitors to please contact us. You can say hi letting us know you popped in, let us know if  if there is a particular type of program you are looking for:we will do research to see if  such a program exists.tell us any listing  has been personally helpful, or let us know about other resources that could help others.Lets pay it forward ah!☺

Private and Homeschool Funding

For parents out there who are seeking public school alternatives but feel it it is not financially possible, well as I (Michelle) like to say, there's always a solution to a so called problem.

 For those here in Maine, there actually is a private school fund for people who financially qualify.Here The Maine Children's Scholarship Fund's application page:  http://www.mecsf.org/index.php?area=application.This fund does not just provide scholarship money  for children to attend for traditional private schools. Homeschoolers are also eligible to receive finds.
Applicants do not have to really every year as  the scholarships are" renewable annually at the sole option of the MCSF".

The applications

A few years back, I wrote an article on school choice affordability for a national audience at The Dollar Stretcher. The link is here: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05jun13g.cfm

Woodfords Family Services

This is a wonderful company that helps families with special needs. They have offices located in Westbrook, Topsham, Waterville, and Rockport. Woodfords helps those of every age, from toddlers to adults. The list of programs they have are:

• Behavioral Consultation
• Community Case Management Program for Adults
• Community Case Management Program for Children
• Developmental Evaluation Team
• Early Childhood Services
  • Toddler and Family Program
  • Preschool Programs
• Early Childhood Transition Project
• In-Home Support Services
• Residential/Shared Living Program
• Respite Care for Children
• SibShop Program
• Therapeutic Foster Care
• Therapeutic Recreation

They also offer training classes for anyone to sign up for. Forms are located on their website. 
The website for Woodfords is:
http://www.woodfords.org/

Free/Very Lost Cost Medical Insurance Programs

 I (Michelle) just learned of a new free insurance program offered by Waterville Maine's Inland Hospital. It is for people who do not qualify for Maine Care but can not personally afford the sky high out of pocket expense of other insurances.http://www.inlandhospital.org/pas.aspx?id=2910

One can fill out an application prior to receiving care or in the case of needing to go to the ER, one can receive care prior to filling out the form. If approved for the program, the cost will be covered.According to the website,the 2009  upper income guidelines for a family of 2 was $29,140.http://www.inlandhospital.org/assets/0/276/310/552/566/1784/FF39341E-9A65-49B1-98D7-074169FB3A6F.pdf
Wendy Wing is the   program's  financial adviser;she can be reached at 861-3025.

 Eastern Maine Medical Center (The hospital is in Bangor which Inland in Waterville is  actually part of, has a free or reduced rate insurance care program:
http://www.emmc.org/assets/0/274/306/3268/6904/8286/ce33d9d8-c22e-4f83-a9ba-9ec4ef1192de.pdf

Maine General  at both  their current Augusta and Waterville locations has two free to low coast insurance Programs and also have financial counselors::http://www.mainegeneral.org/body.cfm?id=855

Sabasticook Valley Health (Their hospital is  in Pittsfield, physicians are in surrounding towns) also has a Free Care Program:
 http://sebasticookvalleyhealth.org/billing-help.aspx?id=18334&terms=free+insurance