Families

On this page:

---

Abuse & crisis information, Hotline Numbers

• Hotlines/Crisis - a comprehensive listing of Hotlines and crisis numbers statewide.
• Adult Protective Services - Services to protect incapacitated and dependent adults (age 18 and over) in danger of abuse, neglect or exploitation.
• Child Abuse Action Network - The Child Abuse Action Network (CAAN) is a multi-disciplinary, public and private sector committee committed to enhancing the professional and public response to child abuse in Maine.
• Child Protective Services - The child abuse hotline is staffed 24 hours a day.
• Mandated Reporters - Information and resources for people who are required by law to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation.
• [Back to top]

Adoption

• A Guide to Adoption Services in Maine - A list of licensed private adoption agencies in Maine, Maine adoption placement services, adoptive family support groups and other related adoption services.
  Adult Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificate Rules and Forms
• How Do I Adopt? - This is the step by step process for adopting a child in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Maine Adoption Reunion Registry - How adoptee's and their birth families can attempt a reunion.
• Maine's Waiting Children - A photolisting of the children in the care of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services awaiting adoption.
• [Back to top]

Child care

• Child Care Tax Credits - Tax credits that can benefit families with young children.
• Finding Child Care - Types of child care available in Maine and how to go about choosing child care.
  • Child Care Facility Search - Statewide search for facilities in Maine
• Paying for Child Care - Ways to help families pay for child care.
• [Back to top]

Child support and paternity

• Child Support - Services including establishing paternity, finding non-custodial parents, and implementing and enforcing child support payments
• Paternity Testing - Testing to determine the father of a child.
• [Back to top]

Education

• English as a Second Language - A listing of school and community resources that offer english classes.
• Head Start - Serving children from birth to age five whose families meet the Federal poverty guidelines.
• Maine Driver Education and Evaluation Programs - Driver education programs for OUI offenders.
• Parents as Scholars - Monthly benefits for parents who are full-time students in a two year or four year postsecondary program.
• [Back to top]

Employment

• ASPIRE/TANF - Helps TANF recipients find employment.
• ASPIRE/JET - Helping food stamp recipients find employment
• Community Opportunities - Community Employment Opportunities
• DHHS Jobs - Job openings within Maine's Department of Health and Human Services.
• Maine Career Center - Providing a variety of employment and training services at no charge for Maine workers and businesses.
• [Back to top]

Food, money, housing

• 2-1-1 Maine - Statewide social services
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Maine - Provides the residents of Maine with financial counseling, debt repayment plans, and consumer education.
• Emergency Assistance - Providing benefits to families with children in emergency situations.
• Food Supplement - Helping low-income people buy food
• Homeless Shelters - Maine homeless shelters with contact names and phone numbers.
• Maine State Housing Authority - Assisting first-time homebuyers, home repair, rental housing, special needs, and the homeless.
• Maine Subsidized Housing - Information for low income people in need of subsidized housing or emergency shelters; to renters; and to landlords.
• Property Tax and Rent Refund - Eligible Maine residents can receive a partial refund of property taxes and/or rent paid on their primary residence.
• Public Assistance Application - Applications for foodstamps, TANF, PaS, MaineCare, Long-term care, request for assistance.
• Rights of Tenants in Maine - An overview of Maine's landlord-tenant laws.
• TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) - Provides temporary cash assistance, training, employment services and child care assistance.
• Women, Infants, and Children's Nutrition Program (WIC) - Free nutrition advice, tips for staying healthy, recipes, and resources for growing families.
• [Back to top]

Health/Safety

• Asthma Control and Prevention
• Cardiovascular Health - Providing health education to Maine residents.
• Childhood Lead Program - Identifying and helping children with elevated blood lead levels.
• Children With Special Health Needs Program - Improving the health and well-being of children with special health needs.
• Coordinating School Health Programs - Maine's School Health Program.
• Diabetes Prevention and Control
• Fish and Game - Warnings on eating fish and game.
• HIV, STD, and Viral Hepatitis - Data, disease reporting, forms, publications, care and prevention.
• Home Safety
• Immunization Schedules - Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedules.
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program - Primary purpose is to study the distribution and determinants of notifiable infectious diseases among citizens and visitors in Maine and to apply this study to the prevention and control of infectious disease.
• Katie Beckett Option - Katie Beckett is a MaineCare option for children with serious health conditions. It is one of the many ways your child can get MaineCare.
• Lyme Disease
• Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program - An early detection program.
• Oral Health
• Sex Offender Registry - Registered offenders currently within Maine.
• Traffic Safety
• Water Testing - Order water test kits online, water test guides and applications
• Youth Suicide Prevention - Reducing suicidal behavior among Maine youth.
• Youth Violence Prevention - Helping schools conduct conflict management, peer mediation, and bullying prevention programs.
• [Back to top]

Legal issues

• Attorney Generals Office - Services and information regarding your rights and responsibilities.
  Includes information on:
  • Children and Families
  • Consumer Law Guide
  • Elder Issues
  • Health Issues
• Legal Services for the Elderly - Providing free legal services to Maine's socially and economically needy elderly age 60 and over.
• Pine Tree Legal - Providing free legal services to low-income Maine people.
• [Back to top]

Vital Records

• Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Certificates - How to obtain certified copies.
• Online database search - research marriages and death for the years 1892 to 1996
• [Back to top]