Maine · home health aide (HHA)
How to become a home health aide in Maine: the routes that qualify you, who regulates home health agencies in Maine, pay, free training options, and all 25 state-approved CNA programs, since a CNA certification also qualifies you as a home health aide.
Your route
Home health agencies in Maine are licensed by the Maine DHHS Division of Licensing and Certification. Medicare and Medicaid agencies must use aides who completed one of the federally approved routes. These are the two most common.
Fastest route
CNA
Agency route
75 hrs
Why we list CNA programs: under federal rules, a state-approved CNA program plus good standing on the Maine nurse aide registry qualifies you as a home health aide. It’s the route that opens the most doors. See our Maine CNA guide.
The steps
The general path for most new aides.
Keep your hours up. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training a year, and if you go 24 months in a row without paid aide work, you must retrain.
Home health aide vs. CNA
The two jobs overlap, but the settings and pay differ.
| Home health aide | CNA | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you work | Clients’ homes, through home health and hospice agencies | Nursing homes and hospitals |
| Training | 75 hours federal minimum, or a CNA certification | State-approved CNA program |
| Official record | Your agency’s training and competency records | The Maine nurse aide registry |
| Median pay (ME) | $18.55 an hour* | $22.63 an hour |
*Federal pay data groups home health aides with personal care aides. About 18,630 of them work in Maine.
Help paying
Ways to cover the cost of training.
Many home health agencies train aides they hire, and nursing homes that hire you can’t charge you for CNA training under federal rules.
Directory
All 25 programs from our Maine CNA guide. Finishing one, passing the exam, and staying in good standing on the state registry also qualifies you as a home health aide for Medicare and Medicaid agencies.
| Program | City | County | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta Adult & Community Education | Augusta | Kennebec | (207) 626-2470 |
| Biddeford Adult Education | Biddeford | York | (207) 282-3883 |
| Central Lincoln County Adult Education | Damariscotta | Lincoln | (207) 563-2811 |
| Central Maine Community College | Auburn | Androscoggin | (207) 755-5370 |
| Franklin County Adult and Community Education | Farmington | Franklin | (207) 778-3460 |
| Gray-New Gloucester Adult & Community Education | Gray | Cumberland | (207) 657-9612 |
| Lewiston Adult Education | Lewiston | Androscoggin | Call the program |
| Merrymeeting Adult Education | Topsham | Sagadahoc | (207) 729-7323 |
| Mid-Coast School of Technology Adult Education | Rockland | Knox | (207) 596-7752 |
| MSAD #1 Adult and Community Education | Presque Isle | Aroostook | (207) 764-4776 |
| Oxford Hills / Nezinscot Adult Education | Oxford | Oxford | (207) 743-8842 |
| Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative (PVAEC) | Dover-Foxcroft | Piscataquis | (207) 564-6525 |
| Portland Adult Education | Portland | Cumberland | (207) 874-8155 |
| Region 9 Adult Education | Mexico | Oxford | (207) 364-2012 |
| Riverside Adult Education | Orono | Penobscot | (207) 866-4119 |
| RSU 24 Adult Education | Sullivan | Hancock | (207) 422-4794 |
| RSU 29/MSAD 70 Houlton Hodgdon Adult & Community Education | Houlton | Aroostook | (207) 538-3191 |
| RSU 54 Adult & Community Education | Skowhegan | Somerset | (207) 474-7553 |
| RSU 73 Spruce Mountain Adult Education | Livermore Falls | Androscoggin | (207) 897-6406 |
| Sanford Community Adult Education | Sanford | York | (207) 490-5145 |
| Scarborough Adult Learning Center | Scarborough | Cumberland | (207) 730-5045 |
| Valley Unified Continuing Education (Madawaska & Fort Kent) | Fort Kent | Aroostook | (207) 834-3536 |
| Washington County Adult and Community Education | Machias | Washington | (207) 255-4917 |
| Westbrook Adult Education | Westbrook | Cumberland | (207) 854-0826 |
| York Adult and Community Education | York | York | (207) 363-7922 |
Tip: ask each program whether it also offers a home health aide add-on. For details, costs, and exam steps, see our Maine CNA guide.
FAQ
Short answers to what people ask most.
Home health aides in Maine work for home health agencies licensed by the Maine DHHS Division of Licensing and Certification. Medicare and Medicaid agencies must hire aides who meet the federal training and competency rules. Ask the agency you're applying to which credential it requires.
The two most common routes are completing a 75-hour home health aide training and competency evaluation, or becoming a CNA. Federal rules count a CNA in good standing on the Maine nurse aide registry as a qualified home health aide.
The median pay for home health and personal care aides in Maine is $18.55 an hour, about $38,580 a year, based on the May 2025 federal wage survey. Maine CNAs earn a median $22.63 an hour.
Yes, for Medicare and Medicaid home health agencies, if the CNA completed a state-approved program and is listed in good standing on the state nurse aide registry.
Yes. Federal rules require at least 12 hours of in-service training every 12 months for aides at Medicare and Medicaid agencies.