Again, Mainers are faced with the all too familiar case of a child being killed in their home after DHHS had been notified by a mandated reporter of the suspected abuse of a minor. In October 2022 DHHS found no child abuse had occurred. Just two months later, on Christmas morning the girl was found […]
Another Maine Child with DHHS Involvement is Dead Read More »
The Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) has once again failed to appropriately monitor and oversee the safety of a child. One-month-old Sylus Melvin was killed by his father Reginald Melvin who plead guilty. It had been reported to OCFS that the child was in danger because his father was violent and unpredictable. Sylus
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
It’s time we take advantage of the experience of those working in child protection, the people who know and understand the system.
Retaliation-free listening tour can inform reform of child protection Read More »
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes is pleased to announce upcoming April listening sessions in Augusta, Rockland, and Auburn during National Child Abuse Prevention Month. These informal meetings are an opportunity for people—foster care parents, childcare professionals, adopters, and others—involved in State mandated day-to-day care of children facing crisis to be heard anonymously and without
Save Maine’s Kids Statewide Listening Tour Announced with April Dates Read More »
Senator Diamond expressed appreciation for justice in the sentencing of Jessica Trefethen who was sentenced to 47 years in prison after being found guilty of depraved indifference murder of her 3-year-old son, Maddox Williams. Diamond expressed frustration knowing Maddox’s death could have been prevented if DHHS had been more diligent and not placed him with
Sen. Diamond issues statement on Jessica Trefethen murder conviction. AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, a jury found Jessica Trefethen guilty of depraved indifference murder in the death of her son, 3-year-old Maddox Williams of Stockton Springs. Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, who attended some of the trial, issued this statement after learning of the jury’s verdict: “The
AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee voted to subpoena the Department of Health and Human Services for the child protection case files of four Maine children who were allegedly killed by their parents in the summer of 2021. The Department has thus far refused to release the case files to the Committee
AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, urged the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee to pursue legal action against the Department of Health and Human Services in order to obtain the case files of four Maine children who were killed in the summer of 2021. The Department has refused to share the case files with
Sen. Diamond: “This new law is just one of the many steps we took this year to better protect Maine kids.” AUGUSTA — A new law sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, that prioritizes the scheduling of child homicide trials took effect Monday, Aug. 8. The new law will help improve safety for all Maine