Despite major concerns about child welfare, Legislature could adjourn without concrete action

The Maine State House in Augusta. (Maine Morning Star)

Gov. Janet Mills said at the outset of the year that if a legislation to recruit case aides for the Office of Child and Family Services ended up on her desk, she would sign it. 

But Mills hasn’t had the chance to make good on her promise because that bill is stuck in limbo waiting to be funded. This is true for nearly all of the bills this session seeking to improve Maine’s failing child welfare system. 

“People had a big focus [on child welfare] at the beginning, and it just kinda fizzled out,” said Julian Richter, an attorney and president of the Maine Parental Rights Attorneys Association.

The Legislature is scheduled to come back May 10 to address vetoes and unresolved bills, which could include the case aides pilot project and other proposed reforms, such as one requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether a child in its care is eligible for federal benefits.

Those bills weren’t included in the budget, nor were they taken up by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which has a pot of discretionary funding to dole out. However, roughly $11.4 million has been left unappropriated, and the budget committee could approve further bills for funding.

Though if not taken “off the appropriations table” by the committee by sine die, or final adjournment, the bills will automatically die. 

Perhaps the biggest attempt to reform the child welfare system was through LD 779, a proposal to separate the Office of Child and Family Services from the Department of Health and Human Services. It passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 22-8, despite the majority of the Health and Human Services Committee recommending against the bill. The House still hadn’t voted on the bill when the bulk of session work was wrapped up in the early morning hours of April 18. 

The Legislature would need to convene in a special session to take action on LD 779; however, there has been no indication as of Thursday morning if there will be a special session. 

A long simmering problem

The death of a six-week-old whose family was involved with the child welfare system reignited a years-long discussion around the systemic failures in OCFS and the burden placed on caseworkers, who reported being understaffed and overworked. 

Caseworkers get little room to catch their breath in a physically and emotionally demanding job, dozens of vacancies go unfilled and convoluted policies lead to “unsound safety decisions,” according to testimonies and reports shared with the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee in late 2023.

In response, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services announced in January it would make several structural changes, including elevating acting director Bobbi Johnson to lead OCFS. Additionally, the department said they would launch a management review for the child welfare division and reorganize children’s behavioral health services.

After a series of hearings, the 12-member bipartisan oversight committee in early March shared its recommendations to improve the agency, including unanimous support for the case aide recruitment proposal. 

Child welfare failures no longer ‘in the shadows’

However, the session wasn’t completely void of action on child welfare. The final supplemental budget signed by the governor included several initiatives to improve child safety. 

This includes $1.3 million for legal aides, trainers and other support positions so caseworkers can focus their time on investigations and engaging with children and families. Another $4 million has been allocated for reclassifying caseworkers and supervisors so their compensation better reflects the difficulty of the job. 

Bill Diamond, a former state senator who started a nonprofit aimed at preventing child homicides and the abuse of children under state care, said even though it seems there may not be any significant legislative “wins” for child welfare this session, there is increased awareness of the problem.  

“It’s no longer sitting in the shadows,” said Diamond.

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