State lawmakers heard testimony Thursday on a proposal to create a stand-alone child welfare agency amid concerns that the current system is not adequately protecting vulnerable children.
But the proposal received qualified support from the Mills administration, which wants to see the results of an in-depth review before making such a change.
The Legislature is expected to consider a number of potential changes to Maine's child welfare programs in response to a spate abuse-related deaths. Among the first to emerge — or re-emerge several years after the last debate — is to remove the Office of Child and Family Services from the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the state's largest agency.
Republican Sen. Jeff Timberlake of Turner said DHHS is too large to manage and that has resulted in children falling through the cracks because caseworkers are overworked and under-supported. Timberlake is a member of the Government Oversight Committee, which has heard from caseworkers and reviewed the department's interactions with the families of four children who died from abuse in a single month in the summer of 2021.
Timberlake told members of the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee that, according to the state, creating a stand-alone agency would cost an estimated $4 million.
"Four million dollars is nothing compared to the amount of money that we have spent trying to do this," he said. "And I think it will make a difference. I think what we are proposing will make a difference."
No one from DHHS spoke during Thursday's public hearing. But in written testimony to the committee, Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said the department would reconsider its opposition to previous similar proposals the proposal if an in-depth review shows it will do more to improve child safety than would other investments in the system.
"Such a review could be accomplished through the existing Blue Ribbon Commission to Study the Organization of and Service Delivery by the Department of Health and Human Services, which will meet through the summer and fall of 2024 and report to the Legislature in November 2024," Lambrew wrote. "Alternatively, this could be done by an independent organization with expertise in state government structure and program management. We would recommend that this proposal be considered only after such a review."
The proposal received support on Thursday from the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services and the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Maine. The Maine Children's Alliance and the Maine Child Action Network said they support the concept but expressed concerns about aspects of the proposed bill, such as separating programs and services from Medicaid, which is the federal support program for low-income families.
The Maine Service Employees Association, Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents many DHHS and child welfare workers, testified neither for nor against the bill. While the union said it supports any efforts to improve child welfare, the organization expressed concern about creating more bureaucracy.
