The number of children in Maine in state custody has dipped below 2,000 for the first time since 2019, continuing a downward trend officials credit in part to more focus on preventing abuse and neglect.

The state’s Office of Child and Family Services has been working on connecting families with support and services so children don’t have to be removed, increasing kinship placements for children who are taken from parents, and reducing the number of open caseworker positions, said Director Bobbi Johnson.

The number of children removed from homes and placed in foster care grew at a high rate in Maine from 2019 to 2023. By June 2024, the state reached a 20-year high, with nearly 2,600 kids in state custody.

There were 1,801 children in state custody as of this week, according to the Office of Child and Family Services, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Maine’s child welfare system has struggled for years to meet rising caseloads. Long court backlogs, a struggling mental health system and limited access to facilities that treat substance use disorder created more demand for services, pushing many kids into a system without the resources to manage them.

Johnson, a former child protective caseworker, said the department has been working on making sure families that need it have access to behavioral and mental health services, as well as service related to substance use disorder. That lack of services “has been a big barrier,” she said.

Through the Family First Prevention Services Plan, department staff have been looking closely at what it takes to prevent removal and for a child to safely remain at home, Johnson said. In some cases, families require additional support to cover basic needs and provide stability for children.

Over the last several years, the OCFS has started using contingency funds to help address the needs of families that are involved in investigations or for families with a trial home placement, a step toward reunification with parents. That money is used to cover a variety of needs, including housing, heating fuel, utilities, home safety equipment, transportation and child care, Johnson said.

During the last session, state lawmakers passed legislation that changed the definition of neglect to exclude poverty, a move that Johnson believes has also contributed to the decrease in the number of children entering care. Department staff have been working with mandated reporters to help them understand how to distinguish between poverty and neglect so families can get support before child welfare intervention is needed, Johnson said.

“Services are key during child welfare involvements, but even more important are prevention services and financial support for families to prevent calls to child welfare in the first place,” Christine Alberi, the state’s independent child welfare ombudsman, wrote in an annual report released in January. “Most necessary services exist in Maine in one form or another but there are gaps and needs that if addressed could help prevent children from being abused and neglected.”

Alberi did not immediately respond to an interview request Friday. She wrote in her annual report that DHHS took positive steps last year, including hiring supervisors to help train and support staff. Alberi also highlighted the work the department has done to reduce the number of children in state custody staying in hotels by creating new emergency foster placements.

Alberi said in the report that “child welfare staff are still struggling with complex cases and under-resourced services, as well as gaps in training and caseworker turnover.”

Johnson said the department has been focusing on recruitment and retention of caseworkers. That work has resulted in the number of caseworker vacancies dropping from 67 in March 2023 to 31 this month, she said.

“A robust system of service providers, attorneys, transportation for parents, experts to consult during both investigation and reunification cases, and a fully resourced court system are all important to support the best casework practice possible,” Alberi said.

According to DHHS data, 48% of children in state custody in February were in foster care, 36.6% were in kinship care, 6.6% were in therapeutic or congregate care, 2.9% were in the adoption process and 4.5% were in trial home placements.

Johnson said the department is continuing to work on using kinship supports for families when possible and making plans to help children exit the system into stable homes.

“It’s better if kids aren’t in the system, but if they are in DHHS custody, how do we help them exit the system to safe, stable permanency outcomes as quickly as possible?” Johnson said.