AUGUSTA, Maine — Looking towards the next steps of the new session, members of the Government Oversight Committee reconvened Friday to discuss what critical components must be focused on when improving Maine's child welfare system.
The meeting comes after the release of an annual report from the Maine Child Welfare Services Ombudsman's Office, outlining dozens of cases and complaints over the past year within the child welfare system.
Some investigations in the report outline how some children were left in unsafe and sometimes violent situations months after it was determined they should be removed.
During the meeting, members expressed their frustration with the stall of action from previous legislation sessions, and how they hope to make progress once and for all.
"As someone who sat here for six years, I just cannot sit here year after year and say that we've got to give this more time,” committee member and Senator Jeff Timberlake said. "But before we leave here on April 18, I really want this committee to make a difference."
Members sifted through a handful of angles, short-term and long-term solutions for the Office of Child and Family Services, including reviewing current statutes.
"If the statute is weak, then the programs and all of it will be as well,” Senator Craig Hickman said.
Also taken into consideration was former Senator Bill Diamond’s report accounting the first-hand experiences of folks working and involved in the child welfare system.
Recommendations within the report, such as strengthening training for judges, were also explored.
“And I think that legitimized what they were saying, and we wanted to capsulize that, so we can use the whole process to make a change,” Diamond said about the discussion.
Ultimately, the committee agreed to reconvene on the discussion for a later date, to further organize Friday’s proposals.