Child safety roadmap outlines how agencies, communities can better support Maine families
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Maine is updating its approach for supporting families and children with the hope of minimizing interactions with the state's embattled child welfare system — or avoiding it altogether.
Acknowledging that raising a family is resource intensive, a new state report from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Child Welfare Action Network says that every child and family in Maine 'deserves to live in a supportive community where they can access the help they need, when they need it.'
The Child Safety and Family Well-Being Plan released Tuesday provides an updated five year roadmap, building off the initial plan from May 2023 that provided a framework for state agencies and communities to bolster support for families.
'It's important that this plan is not just about policies – it is about people,' said Melissa Hackett, coordinator of the Child Welfare Action Network, a group of organizations and individuals supported by the Maine Children's Alliance nonprofit. 'It was shaped by the voices of families and communities, and we invite all Mainers to play a role in making it a success.
Since the original plan was put forward two years ago, the state has increased investments in family services and launched a campaign to raise public awareness of various programs and support available to parents and families.
Despite that progress, families still 'find themselves interacting with the state's child welfare agency long after needed supports could or should have been accessed,' the updated plan reads.
Maine's child welfare system has been the subject of intense scrutiny, with leadership changes, staff vacancies and untenable working conditions for frontline staff. The Legislature's Government Oversight Committee dug into the system last year to learn more about the challenges in the Office of Child and Family Services. That work resulted in more than two dozen suggested reforms for the agency.
Oversight panel suggests more than two dozen reforms for Maine child welfare system
Parents, caregivers, youth, as well as community leaders collaborated on the revised document. It outlines two core goals aimed at keeping children safe and families strong: for parents and caregivers to provide safety, health and nurturing care for children and for families to experience a supportive and coordinated child safety and family well-being system.
To achieve these goals, the report recommends providing families with material and economic support such as transportation, diapers and housing, as well as expanding access to affordable health care and paid leave while strengthening early childhood care and education. The plan also suggests more local efforts to provide necessities like clothes and diapers through 'Community Baby Showers' for new or expectant parents.
Support also needs to be timely and with minimal barriers in order to achieve the desired goals, the report explains. This is especially important for helping children and youth access primary care, behavioral health services and mental health resources. The plan also suggests this could be done by expanding peer-to-peer networks and improving access to early intervention services.
The roughly 40-page report offers more details on how these strategies and others could be implemented in communities across the state. Maine DHHS said the plan is meant to be a 'living roadmap that can adapt to evolving needs.'
'The new five-year plan released today is a step forward in our efforts to safeguard the well-being of children in Maine,' said DHHS Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes.
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