AUGUSTA, Maine — In June 2021, five children in Maine died, causing many to ask questions about the programs' effectiveness at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Throughout 2021, 30 children tracked by Maine DHHS died or were allegedly killed by either their parents or while in state custody. That's a state record.
According to the year-end report that Maine DHHS released in January, the department handled more than 12,000 cases last year. Now, Maine lawmakers are looking to require more oversight to prevent more children from dying.
This is the third time Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Cumberland, has introduced a bill that would require more oversight of the Maine Office of Child and Family Services. Previous attempts for more management like this have failed, but Diamond said he's not giving up.
"This is an attempt to bring some transparency to the office of child and family services," Diamond said.
He's worked at this for more than 20 years after five-year-old Logan Marr was killed by her foster mother in 2001. Diamond added he sat through the entire trials for Sharon Kennedy and Julio Carrillo, who in 2019 were convicted of killing Sharon's daughter Marissa Kennedy, and Shawna Gatto, who was convicted of killing four-year-old Kendall Chick.
Kendall and Marissa both died in 2017, and DHHS was involved in both of their cases.
"It's bad decision making," Diamond said. "They're still not making good decisions on where to put kids."
The proposal requires Office of Child and Family Services workers to regularly report to the government oversight committee on how cases are being handled. During Tuesday's public hearing on the bill, people spoke in support of the legislation, some of whom have first-hand experience with the trauma.
"You're probably familiar with my grandson Maddox who took his last breath on June 20, 2021," Victora Vose started her public hearing. "Jessica Johnson, who gave birth to him, was charged with depraved indifference murder just three months after he was placed back with her."
Diamond said the Government Oversight Committee is in session all year, not just when the legislature is in session.
"When a child dies again, hopefully not, but odds are there will be, then they'll have a committee that's already in session and hasn't gone home like the rest of us. And they can deal with that issue," he said.
No one testified against this bill during the public hearing, and a work session has not yet been scheduled.