AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday that she has signed bipartisan legislation to strengthen and solidify the child welfare ombudsman's authority.
The Maine Child Welfare Ombudsman's Office specializes in assisting people with resolving concerns and complaints about child protection issues with the Department of Health and Human Services.
The legislation solidifies the ombudsman’s authority to hire additional staff at their discretion and increases the length of the ombudsman’s term from one year to five years, according to a release from the governor's office.
The bill was supported by Maine’s current child welfare ombudsman, Christine Alberi, and a bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers who sit on the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, Mills said.
“This law will enhance the independence and productiveness of our office in order to more effectively do our part in the statewide efforts to enhance the protection of Maine’s most vulnerable children,” Alberi said in the release.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services hired Casey Family Programs in June 2021 to conduct an independent review after five children died in Maine in that month alone.
The report found that turnover at Maine DHHS led to high workloads, as new staff had to take on more cases from those who left. Those overwhelming workloads led to more people leaving, and the process snowballing.
That meant staff did not "meet important expectations" according to the report, such as contacting children and families.
Mills said the legislation also takes into account proposals from the Maine Child Welfare Action Network, the Maine Child Welfare Advisory Panel, and Maine lawmakers.
"The Child Welfare Services Ombudsman is a key entity providing recommendations for improving the child welfare system in Maine," Melissa Hackett, coordinator of the Maine Child Welfare Action Network, told NEWS CENTER Maine in a statement. "This legislation is an important step to ensure that critical entities like the Ombudsman’s office have the autonomy, authority, and capacity to provide that oversight, and represents an important investment in our current efforts to improve Maine’s child welfare system."
Mills' office said she has also proposed measures in her supplemental budget for the child welfare ombudsman to hire additional staff, provide health coverage for staff, and allow for additional office space.
“The Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman is an important partner in the State’s effort to protect children,” Mills said.
The bill signed by Mills on Monday was sponsored by Sen. Ned Claxton, D-Androscoggin, and co-sponsored by Sen. Marianne Moore, R-Washington, Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot, and Rep. Kathy Javner, R-Chester.