Maine is moving ahead on a plan to improve its child welfare computer system.
The state says it's conditionally awarded the contract to New York firm Deloitte Consulting, which offered a $36 million proposal. The state informed Deloitte earlier this month.
Maine has struggled in recent years with increasing reports of possible child abuse and neglect. Child welfare caseworkers' workloads have spiked as call volumes increase and policy changes under the prior administration.
Lawmakers pressed for reform after the deaths of two girls, 4-year-old Kendall Chick in December 2017 in Wiscasset, and 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy in Stockton Springs early last year.
Lawmakers passed an 11th-hour, $21.2 million reform package last fall. That includes the Legislature's approval of $8 million in federal funds to start replacing the aging computer information system.