A little more than a year ago, the deaths of 4-year-old Kendall Chick and 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy in two separate child abuse-related instances sent us all reeling. Both children had been flagged by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS). We know now that both suffered sustained, brutal abuse at the hands of their caretakers, which eventually resulted in their death. The unnerving nature of what occurred and the seeming inability of the state to prevent it has spurred calls to investigate and reform OCFS.
In 2018 the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee (GOC) ordered the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) to survey front line workers in the OCFS to gain their perspective on conditions within the office.
When I was elected in November of 2018, I was assigned to serve on the GOC, and shortly thereafter, OPEGA released a summary of their survey and interviews to the committee. They found that OCFS was tasked with a job that was very difficult to accomplish within the bounds of a normal 40-hour work-week. Even though it was staffed by dedicated professionals who cared very much about what they do, the office simply did not have the bandwidth to handle the volume and severity of cases they encountered.
In response, Gov. Janet Mills has proposed adding 59 caseworkers, intake workers and administrative personnel to the OCFS to reduce these burdens. The Legislature has also passed LD 821, which will require regular reporting of staffing ratios in OCFS. This new requirement will help that office stay on top of unexpected increases in workloads.
OPEGA found that there has been a marked increase in the number of child abuse cases reported in recent years. Workers noted a correlation between their caseload and the ongoing opioid crisis in Maine. In recent testimony before the GOC, DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew confirmed that OCFS has seen an uptick in cases and reinforced that increases’ connection with substance use disorder.
She talked about some of the steps DHHS is taking to tackle this issue, including targeting visits from the recently reinvigorated Public Health Nursing Program to families with young children and a history of substance use; applying for federal funds to improve care for pregnant and postpartum women suffering from or at risk of substance use disorder.
Commissioner Lambrew also introduced the committee to Dr. Todd Landry, the new director of OCFS, who previously served as the director of the Nebraska Division of Child and Family Services. Dr. Landry told us about policy changes happening within the office, including efforts to improve efficiency in reporting and increase the amount of knowledge caseworkers have about a given case by implementing background checks for individuals involved in cases. The office is also taking steps to increase the number of foster home placements available, which is a critical step to improving the child protection system.
These steps are important to addressing the system failures that led to the death of Kendall, Marissa and at least six other children with open abuse cases since 2017. Even one child death is too many, and we all must do everything we can to prevent further tragedies.
If you have questions, comments or concerns please feel free to call or email me. Remember, I work for you.
Linda Sanborn is serving her first term in the Maine Senate, representing Senate District 30, which includes Gorham, part of Buxton, and part of Scarborough. She previously served four terms in the Maine House, and practiced family medicine in Gorham for 25 years. Senator Sanborn lives in Gorham with her husband, Jeff, a Gorham native. They have three adult sons and one granddaughter.
(207) 287-1515 | Linda.Sanborn@Legislature.Maine.gov.