The State of Maine reached a settlement Tuesday with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in a lawsuit over alleged violations of the the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) due to their handling of children with behavioral disabilities.
According to the lawsuit filed in September, the State “unnecessarily segregat[ed] children with behavioral health disabilities in hospitals, residential facilities and a state-operated juvenile detention facility,” thus violates their rights under the ADA.
As part of this settlement, the State of Maine will make a number of improvements to the availability of community-based services for these children.
The DOJ filed their lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Portland in early September, explaining that they had notified the State in June 2022 of its “findings of civil rights violations” and “identified steps that Maine should take to remedy” them.
According to their complaint, the State of Maine “segregates hundreds of children with mental health and/or developmental disabilities, referred to throughout as behavioral health disabilities, away from their families and communities in institutions in- and out-of-state.”
“Maine administers its behavioral health service system for children in a manner that gives the families and guardians of these children no meaningful choice other than institutions,” the DOJ wrote. “This leaves hundreds of children separated from their families and segregated from their communities.”
The DOJ goes on to suggest that the state “in theory” provides an “array of behavioral health services” designed to “help children with disabilities avoid or recover from mental health crises and manage their behavioral health disabilities so that they can stay in their homes and communities.”
“In reality, Maine fails to provide children access to community-based behavioral health services,” they wrote. Instead, “hundreds of children are segregated in institutions because they cannot access the community-based services they are entitled to receive.”
“Most Maine children who have had to enter institutions could live at home with a family if they could access the services they need there,” said the DOJ.
[RELATED: DOJ Sues Maine for Allegedly Violating the ADA by Separating Children from Families]
In reaching this settlement, the State of Maine agreed to make a number of improvements to the provision of community-based services to children with behavioral health disabilities.
For example, the state will need to work toward identifying children with behavioral health needs and quickly furnish them with the “full range of services” for which they are eligible at home.
The Maine state government will also be required to provide children with “care coordination” capable of allowing “children with the most intense behavioral health disabilities” succeed at home.
“Prompt mobile crisis interventions” must also be accessible so that children would not necessarily need to be hospitalized or institutionalized during a mental health crisis. Absent these services, the DOJ suggests that children would “enter emergency rooms, come into contact with law enforcement and remain in institutions.”
The DOJ also indicates that Maine will need to “help children move out of institutions, including the Long Creek juvenile detention facility, and instead receive services at home, if their needs can be met there and they and their families want them to be at home.”
The settlement also requires the state to address current or future workforce shortages of community service providers, including by “providing payment rates and support for community providers to enable children they serve to return to or remain at home long term.”
“This agreement reflects the Civil Rights Division’s commitment to ensuring that children with disabilities can live at home surrounded by the love and support of their families rather than isolated away in facilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“We know that too many children with behavioral health disabilities end up in juvenile justice settings or in out-of-home placements, often in different states far from their families, disrupting their lives in ways that can cause permanent harm,” Clarke said. “Under this agreement, more children will have access to community-based services and in-home behavioral health services so that they can grow up surrounded by family and loved ones.”
“Mainers with disabilities, particularly children, must be able to access the critical services they need in their homes and within their communities,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee for the District of Maine.
“Maine’s geographical expanse is a treasure, but children with behavioral health disabilities cannot be needlessly limited to accessing necessary services and supports in facilities away from their families,” McElwee said. “This agreement prioritizes Maine’s children and ensures the availability of crucial services to allow them to pursue their greatest potential and ease the emotional toll on their caregivers.”
Click Here to Read the DOJ’s Full Press Release
Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) press release suggests that the state has put in “years of work and [made] robust investments” in order to “strengthen children’s behavioral health services across the state,” totaling $260 million in recent years.
She goes onto explain that the total number Maine children in residential treatment has been reduced, with in-state care numbers dropping from 290 to 192 and out of state care numbers going from 250 down to 69.
The waitlist for home and community-based services has also been lowered by 42 percent, while the waitlist for rehabilitative and community support services has been reduced by 21.8 percent since June 2022.
“For more than two years, my Administration negotiated in good faith with the U.S. Department of Justice to address its concerns about children’s behavioral health services in Maine,” Mills said.
“I shared many of the U.S. DOJ’s concerns, many of which preceded my Administration, and we have worked closely with the Legislature to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen the system — important reforms which we believe in and we that we continue to implement,” she continued. “While I am confident that the State of Maine would have prevailed if we pressed forward with a defense, I asked myself, ‘At what cost?'”
“Protracted, expensive litigation would only have detracted from what’s most important — continuing to improve our children’s behavioral health system,” Mills continued. “And I prefer to solve problems through conversation and negotiation, rather than litigation.”
“I welcome this agreement because it recognizes the work we have done while outlining a path to continue our progress,” she concluded. “We all strongly agree that in-community behavioral health services are critical, and we are committed to continuing to strengthen the delivery of those services for Maine children who need them.”
“I applaud the work of Governor Mills, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. DOJ in reaching this settlement that recognizes not only meaningful progress in improving access to children’s behavioral health services, but also the State’s commitment to ensure this vital work continues,” said Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey.
“I also want to recognize the attorneys in my office who dedicated significant skill, talent, and time in working with the Mills Administration to negotiate this complex and important outcome,” Frey said. “My office remains committed to providing the best legal advice to support the State in achieving the commitments in this settlement.”
“I’m pleased that the U.S. DOJ and the Department have agreed on a path forward to strengthen Maine’s children’s behavioral health services. The settlement allows the Department to prioritize the critical work needed to improve access to services over litigation,” said Sara Gagné-Holmes, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. “The State of Maine agrees that it has an obligation to protect and care for children with disabilities and behavioral health needs, and that’s why we’ve dedicated years of time and investments to rebuild Maine’s children’s behavioral health services.
Click Here to Read Gov. Mills’ Full Press Release
The State of Maine and the DOJ have agreed that the federal district court will retain jurisdiction to enforce the settlement, and an independent reviewer will evaluate the state’s compliance with these terms.
Click Here to Read the Full Settlement Agreement
What a bunch of BS . Kids with “ behavioral “ problems are now “ disabled “ .
Gimme a break ! When they start beating up the neighborhood kids , torturing peoples pets , and starting fires , it’s time to re- lock the little SOBs up .
Civil society should not have to be burdened , or held hostage by these out of control little delinquents. Lock them up .