Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been providing worst-in-the-nation child welfare services, regularly making headlines for tragic deaths of children despite DHHS intervention.
[RELATED: Ex-Dem Sen Diamond’s Report Details Mountain of Failures in Maine’s Child Welfare System…]
A bipartisan group of legislators wants to reverse this trend by cleaving the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) from the sprawling DHHS and making it a cabinet-level agency. The bill would remove the responsibilities for child and family services and welfare from the DHHS.
“I think we’re in crisis mode, I think everybody realizes that,” said Sen. Jefferry Timberlake (R-Androscoggin), the bill’s sponsor, during a work session on the bill, ” I think something different has to happen; we can’t continue on that same road.”
[RELATED: Director of Maine’s Worst-in-the-Nation Child Welfare System Finally Resigns…]
The Bill, LD 779, was put forward by Sen. Timberlake, and included co-sponsorships by multiple Democrats, such as Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) and Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot).
According to the bill’s fiscal note, it’s projected to cost a little more than $4 million per year if passed.
The new DCFS would not be a sub department of the DHHS, but would be another cabinet level department, alongside the DHHS itself, and other important departments such as the Department of Labor (DOL).
The department will provide various child welfare programs, including home visits, aid for children with disabilities, and enforcement of child support payment agreements.
The bill specifies that the department will have a “coordinated and efficient administrative structure,” using a combination of state employees and private contractors.
The DCFS would be headed by a governor appointed commissioner, meaning that Gov. Mills (D-Maine), who also appointed the current DHHS commissioner, Jeanne Lambrew, would select the leader for the new department.
Under Lambrew’s direction, the number of children dying despite state intervention grew substantially, in part due to the severe disruption of life caused by the state’s government lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2007, seven children died despite CPS involvement; in 2022, the number of CPS cases in which children died was 28.
The annual Child Welfare Ombudsman report showed that Maine’s child welfare programs continued their decline last year, with workers failing to make effective decisions about children’s health.
[RELATED: Child Welfare Ombudsman Reports Continued “Decline in Child Welfare Practice” for 2023…]
The DCFS would retain all aspects of the relevant parts of the DHHS; all assets, contracts, and rules regarding the child welfare portion of the DHHS will be transferred to the new department.
The department will also retain the DHHS employees who were involved in child and family welfare, as well as gaining 20 new positions appointed by the commissioner.
During the work session, Timberlake argued that the new department would be better than the old because it would be solely dedicated to child welfare, despite the current DHHS having offices and employees dedicated to the same thing.
“I think it makes the department their only responsibility,” said Timberlake. “The Department [the DHHS] has gotten so big, it’s hard for one person to control it.”
The Maine Wire reached out to Timberlake, asking for more specific comments on the reasons he believes that the new department would work better than the DHHS, other than the department being smaller.
Timberlake declined to respond to The Maine Wire’s request for comment.
During the work session, the committee on Health and Human Services voted that LD 779 ought not to pass, with only two committee members, Sen. Baldacci, and Rep. Ann Fredricks (R-Sanford), backing a divided report.
“Taking a department within DHHS and separating it from DHHS doesn’t solve any issues; for example, if you have something smelly in your house, and you put it in your shed, you didn’t solve the problem you just have a smelly shed, so what you have to do is fix the problem. This does not fix the problem,” said Rep. Michael Lemelin (R-Chelsea).
Following the committee vote, the bill moves to the full legislature.
Replace failed government agency with bigger, more expensive government agency. Makes prefect sense, if you’re brain dead.
How about the supervisors actually do their jobs instead of counting down the time they have left until retirement?
Maybe stop bringing illegals in and deport the ones who are here. Like Howie Carr’s new t-shirt says, “Cheaper to deport than support”.
How about reinstate the time limits on welfare that LePage had so the welfare system can be downsized?
All of that would save money and save personnel and maybe give the employees the time they need to make sure the foster homes are safe.
What’s really astounding is that even with a failed system like this the State of Maine leftists and guv are trying to pass a bill that would allow the State to basically kidnap kids from out of state as well as in state.
They already can’t take care of the kids who actually need their help.
As government grows and grows taxes will increase and freedoms will decrease.
these social support systems are no match for the onslaught of family failures. 100% of the cases in these department begin with a failed family.
From the little information I read here: the people in the old department that were failing the children they were supposed to help, so that 22 children died on their watch last year, will now be put into a department with a new name. The “new” department will have 20 “new” employees picked by our Governess, perhaps taking orders from the old employees. Thus the tax payers of the state will pay a lot more money for the 20 “new” employees picked by our old democrat “leader”.
Let’s add another government agency in an already bloated money wasting government. How about you fix what is there and fire those who don’t do the job and start firing at the top. We are already the highest taxed state in the country. When are the citizens of Maine going to get it and vote these Marxists out?
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The government removed God from our schools in the 60’s. ‘Nuff said.
The last thing the taxpayers need is another government agency. Why not just fire the people responsible for this mess and replace them with new, responsible people.
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.