Flaws in Maine’s child protection system frustrate frontline workers, report says

The Legislature’s watchdog agency reported Friday that Maine’s child protective system is hobbled by overburdened caseworkers, staffing shortages, inefficient computer systems and a lack of foster families that forces caseworkers to supervise abused or at-risk children in hotels and hospitals for long periods.

The findings, based on a survey and interviews with staff in the Office of Child and Family Services, are part of a new report to the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee that follows the deaths of two children in 2017 and 2018.

More >> Flaws in Maine’s child protection system frustrate frontline workers, report says

• Report finds most Maine child welfare workers stressed, overwhelmed