Former Senator Bill Diamond issues statement to the Government Oversight Committee (GOC) regarding the government watchdog report analyzing the Department of Health and Human Services’s (DHHS) handling of the Maddox Williams case. The Walk a Mile in Their Shoes founder puts into question the watchdog’s credibility in this instance considering the report’s conclusion that caseworkers did not make “unsound” decisions but missed opportunities.
Maddox Williams was violently murdered while in the custody of his biological mother, Jessica Trefethen who was a known drug user and convicted felon after having been removed by DHHS three months earlier from the safe and nurturing home of his grandmother. Diamond points out why this is an egregious example of failures within Maine’s child protection system and that the GOC watchdog delivered a hollow report providing cover for a system that was unsuccessful in protecting Maddox Williams from abuse and ultimately death.
Diamond’s May 26, 2023 testimony before GOC follows.
Senator Hickman, Representative Fay and members of the GOC, my name is Bill Diamond. Presenting my testimony today is something I’ve not looked forward to, but unfortunately it must be done.
I’ve been an adamant supporter of OPEGA/GOC from its inception in 2003 and its first meeting in 2004. This is the 20th anniversary of OPEGA/GOC and I’m extremely proud of their many accomplishments during that time. Having served on this committee for eight years I know firsthand the value and quality of OPEGA’s professional research and investigations. OPEGA’s well-deserved reputation has been earned based on their independent nature and willingness to seek the truth regardless of the agency/organization involved.
However, the most recent OPEGA report analyzing OCFS’s handling of the Maddox Williams’ case was not only inconsistent with the previous standards of presenting a thorough, reliable, and factually based report, it was just the opposite, complete with carefully selected wording that softened and misrepresented the poor decisions by OCFS that unnecessarily put Maddox’s life in jeopardy and finally resulting in his death.
The report’s findings: No unsound decisions only missed opportunities. Such statements are mind boggling, vacant of any common sense, and mostly curious given the fact that the Maddox Williams case was the most egregious example of how seriously flawed OCFS’s management and decision-making policies are as reported repeatedly by the Child Welfare Ombudsman. The report avoided any mention of OCFS’s inappropriate decision-making, lack of procedural consistency, and ineffective communication.
Let me give you some specific examples. Maddox was living with his grandmother in a loving and caring home where he was protected and safe enjoying a happy life. Then OCFS decided that Maddox must be taken from that loving home and placed with his biological mother.
Jessica Trefethen’s rap sheet.
- A woman who was a convicted felon and convicted of several additional serious crimes
- A convicted drug dealer and user
- A woman involved in domestic violence with evidence of her being the aggressor in some instances
- A mother whose children were taken from her by OCFS for safety reasons
- A mother who had drugs in her home from which one of her children overdosed
- A mother who has a long history of NOT cooperating with DHHS
- And, a mother who had abandoned Maddox for almost two years
Despite all of those alarming danger signals OCFS still placed Maddox in that threatening and unstable environment. OPEGA Report concluded “No unsound decisions”?
Jessica’s convictions included the use of a gun as a dangerous weapon, committing a burglary, and several violations of release all resulting in her being reincarcerated several times.
We learned at the trial Jessica actually hated Maddox and would make him lie on the couch facing the back so she “wouldn’t have to look at his f…n ugly face.”
The OPEGA report also chose to use the softer and more accepted word “clutter” to describe the inside of Jessica’s mobile home. Clutter? At the trial we saw living conditions that no one, certainly none of us, would even allow our pets to live in. The report mentions OCFS visited the Trefethen home to observe Maddox’s welfare (who was sleeping at the time) and even though they didn’t see his body they determined that no unusual issues were observed which the report didn’t question.
At the trial we saw Maddox’s naked little body fully covered with bruises from the tops of his feet to his head – bruises that experts said were long lasting having occurred over a period. Jessica had placed children’s tattoos on the bruises on his face and head to cover them up. Any legitimate observation of Maddox during the last 10 weeks of his life would have revealed the torture he was going through including having three back teeth knocked out due to hard strikes to the face by Jessica. Yet, OPEGA said “No unsound decisions”?
And lastly, one of the most cruel and uncaring occurrences by OCFS was how they allowed Jessica to take Maddox from his family one day while being cared for at his aunt’s day care center without even telling his grandmother who was his full time care taker that he was being taken. OCFS allowed Jessica to literally walk into the day care grab Maddox – he was frightened and had no idea who she was – and took him away. The family pleaded with the department not to put Maddox in that dangerous mobile home explaining that Jessica was unstable and highly volatile and would surely hurt or even kill him. The begging and pleading by the family members, who knew Jessica better than anyone including OCFS, were ignored. Why didn’t the OPEGA report include all of these instances and ask the obvious questions?
For those who know what really happened leading up to Maddox’s tragic death, especially his family, and others who were working to improve the child protective system, this OPEGA report is seen as tragically flawed and very damaging because of its avoidance of declaring the need of accountability by DHHS. As Senator Duson has said, GOC can’t just wring your hands and feel bad, it’s imperative to know what specifically needs to be fixed. This report carefully avoided that accountability question and delicately sidestepped focusing on the serious problems within the department.
This OPEGA report should have been exhibit A identifying specific system breakdowns with suggestions for the committee to consider making meaningful changes, but instead it provided a flag of exoneration to be waved as needed.
In summary, it saddens me to say that this, but this report was a disservice to you as a committee, a misrepresentation to the public and a crushing insult to the family of Maddox Williams.