AUGUSTA - The Maine House gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill sponsored by Rep. Michele Meyer, D-Eliot, that seeks to restore Maine's once successful child welfare system. The House advanced the measure "under the hammer," or by unanimous consent.
The proposal comes in response to the worst year on record for children's deaths involving abuse, neglect or in households with prior involvement with child protective services in 2021.
"Maine's child welfare system was once a national model, widely viewed as among the best in the country," said Meyer, who is House chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. "But over the last decade, we have failed to invest in the programs and initiatives that help stabilize families and keep kids safe. At the same time, the opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated the stress so many families are facing. We know what it takes to reform our child welfare system once again, and focusing on prevention alongside improved interventions is essential."
As amended, LD 393 would invest $2 million in strengthening behavioral health services for at-risk families. It would also increase support for kinship families, which are grandparents and other family members who are raising children, and improve coordination within and between state agencies to support families and bolster efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.
"This bill represents an important step forward in our efforts to improve the state's child welfare system," said Rep. Michael Brennan, D-Portland, House chair of the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. "There is a great deal of work to be done, and this bill puts us on a pathway to provide the right help for Maine's children and families."
More than three-quarters of child maltreatment cases in 2020 were neglect or emotional abuse, often related to a parent's mental health and substance use disorders. According to Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Center, 9,000 Maine children are being raised by kin with no parent present, and 5,224 grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren.
"In response to recent child deaths, high levels of reports of abuse and neglect, and the stressors added by the pandemic, our natural response is to focus attention on effective intervention when their families are in crisis," said Meyer. "We must also respond by providing families with the resources and supports they need to prevent the need for intervention in the first place. We can demonstrate our care and concern for children by investing in their parents' ability to safely care for them."
The measure faces additional votes.
Meyer is serving her second term in the Maine House. She represents Eliot, part of Kittery and part of South Berwick.
Brennan is serving his third consecutive term in the Maine House, having previously served four terms in the House and three in the Senate. He represents part of Portland.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Meyer, Brennan], c. 812-1111