Feds approve expansion of Maine’s child welfare services

(The Center Square) – Maine will be getting $2.4 million a year in federal funding to expand social welfare services to help keep children out of the state’s foster care system.

The funding, approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will pay for expanded mental health services, substance use treatment, educational and employment support, and programs aimed at improving parenting skills. Maine submitted its request for approval of its Family First plan in February, one of the first states to seek the expanded funding.

“Every Maine child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a safe and healthy environment,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement. “The approval of Maine’s Family First Plan will provide unprecedented federal support to advance important reforms to the state’s child welfare system and protect Maine children from abuse and neglect.”

Todd Landry, director of the Office of Children and Family Services, said the “Family First Plan” will make improvements to the child welfare system to “ensure parents and families have the support they need.”

“Under this plan, we will further improve our programs and expand prevention services with the goal of safe, stable, happy, and healthy children and families in Maine,” he said.

Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Services, called the plan a “historic opportunity” that will give child welfare systems “the tools and ongoing funding they need to prevent abuse and neglect and improve the lives of children and families who can remain safely together with the appropriate support.”

The expanded funding is provided under a 2018 federal budget signed by then-President Donald Trump, which was hailed as the most extensive overhaul of foster care in decades.

The new federal law prioritizes keeping families together and puts more money toward at-home parenting classes, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment.

It also puts limits on placing children in institutional settings such as group homes, capping funding for group homes that hold children for any more than two weeks.

The plan targets families of children identified as safe staying at home, teen parents in foster care, and parents who need help keeping their kids out of the foster care system.

Nationally, the foster care population increased by more than 10% between 2012 and 2016, according to a March report by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal agency said the increase in child welfare caseloads was directly related to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

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