AUGUSTA – On Friday, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) presented an evaluation report to the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee and Health and Human Services Committee about how initial child protection investigations are conducted. Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, issued the following statement in response:
“Today’s report highlighted many of the problems we’ve known about for years: That there are still serious problems within the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) in regard to caseworker training, proper conduction of safety assessments and investigations, and caseworker workload and working conditions. It’s frustrating that we continue to hear the same results from every investigation, and that nothing seems to change – at least, not enough. We’ve known this for years, and yet it seems that nothing is done to seriously and significantly address these problems.
“I’m also concerned that OPEGA did not have enough time to thoroughly perform their investigation. Time constraints were repeatedly cited as the reason why problems weren’t looked into further, or why more stakeholders weren’t interviewed. I’m also concerned that families and caretakers of children who have had experience with OCFS were not adequately consulted for this report. And while I acknowledge that criminal cases are still ongoing in the child homicides that occurred last summer, I wish there had been reference to the record number of child deaths that took place last year, and how child safety investigations played a role.”
Friday’s report is the second part of a three-part review OPEGA is conducting at the direction of the Government Oversight Committee. The report focused on the investigations OCFS carries out in determining if a child is safe in their home and if abuse or neglect is taking place. OPEGA identified key areas of concern and made recommendations about how those areas can be improved.
Of particular note was the inclusion of Quality Assurance Case Review (QA) results. Every six months, 65 cases are selected for QA review, which uses a federally prescribed methodology to evaluate how effectively case investigations are being conducted. OPEGA outlined that of 109 cases examined for their report, QA review found that all risk and safety concerns posed to a child in the home were adequately assessed in just 35% of cases. Of 86 cases reviewed for safety plan efficacy, just 14% of cases had a safety plan that was appropriately developed alongside the family and continually monitored and updated as needed. And of 106 cases reviewed for the quality of child visits, quality of child visits was sufficient to address issues pertaining to safety, permanency, and well-being of the child, and sufficient to promote the achievement of case goals, in just 24% of cases.
OPEGA’s review comes after four Maine children, all younger than four years old, died between May and August 2021, with parents being charged with either manslaughter or murder in their deaths. While details about these cases are still forthcoming, reports indicate that the Department of Health and Human Services was aware of prior neglect in at least one victim’s family, that of three-year-old Maddox Williams. Last year saw the highest number of child deaths since DHHS started keeping records in 2007, with 25 child deaths reported, not including the four child homicides, including that of Maddox Williams, as criminal cases are still ongoing.
OPEGA presented part one of their report, an information brief outlining oversight of Child Protective Services, in January. Part three will be presented in September and will consist of an evaluation report focusing on reunification and permanency determinations in child protection cases.
The public is expected to be given the opportunity to comment on today’s report during the Government Oversight Committee’s next meeting on Friday, April 8. Today’s presentation can be viewed on YouTube at youtu.be/unZK56bK3N0, and materials including slides and the full report can be viewed at legislature.maine.gov/documents/opega.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call 1-800-452-1999. If you have questions or concerns about a child protective services case, you can contact the Ombudsman’s office at 1-866-621-0758. For emergencies, dial 911 or call your local police department.