AUGUSTA - The Maine House of Representatives gave initial approval on Tuesday to a bill sponsored by Rep. Colleen Madigan, D- Waterville, that would institute workload limits for child protective services caseworkers.
LD 1825 would require the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that caseworkers within the Office of Child and Family Services are not working more than 60 hours over seven consecutive days or 70 hours over eight consecutive days.
"I am pleased that the House gave initial approval to this," said Madigan. "I see this as a safety issue as well as a worker retention issue. The best way to keep children safe and prevent further tragedies is for child protective caseworkers to have reasonable workloads so they can complete assessments, work with families, see children in state custody and work with the court system."
The bill faces additional votes in the coming weeks.
Madigan is serving her third term in the Maine Legislature and represents parts of Waterville and Oakland. She serves on the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Madigan], c. 812-1111