Three experts in juvenile justice urged lawmakers on Wednesday to do a top-to-bottom assessment of how the state responds to troubled children. The recommendation came during a joint meeting of two legislative committees to discuss ongoing problems at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, the state’s only correctional facility for youths, where […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage says he’ll address ‘major holes’ in Maine’s system for protecting at-risk children
Gov. Paul LePage vowed to issue executive orders to address systemic problems with Child Protective Services in the aftermath of the beating death of a 10-year-old Stockton Springs girl. LePage, speaking to reporters Thursday at the State House, said he is “seeing major, major holes” in the system, and he is working with Maine Department […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Kendall Chick’s short life began with neglect and ended with abuse. She left hardly a trace.
There is little evidence that Kendall Chick ever existed. No birth announcement printed in any local newspaper after she was born on Nov. 26, 2013. No obituary published following her death on Dec. 8, 2017, less than two weeks after her fourth birthday. No wake or viewing or memorial service or funeral. The only event […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature’s investigative arm to probe 2 child deaths and role of Maine DHHS
AUGUSTA – The investigative arm of the Legislature will launch a probe into the recent deaths of two Maine children who were slain in their homes after months of abuse, and how the Department of Health and Human Services and other public agencies failed to protect them. “The system has clearly failed her, we all […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage: State agencies, schools ‘dropped the ball’ in 10-year-old’s beating death
Gov. Paul LePage, in his first public statement regarding the alleged murder of 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy by her mother and stepfather, blamed child protective workers, school officials, police and legislators “dropped the ball” and failed to prevent the child’s death. “In this particular case, it is a comedy of errors both at DHHS, CDS, the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bills to better serve Mainers with disabilities move forward on party-line votes
AUGUSTA — Bills that would beef up both the internal and external oversight of the state’s care of people with intellectual disabilities and autism won party-line approval from the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Monday. One bill would create an independent panel within the Department of Health and Human Services to review deaths […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Confirmed cases of physical abuse of children jumped 52% in Maine over eight years
Confirmed cases of physical abuse of children in Maine increased by 52 percent from 2008 to 2016 even though the overall number of abuse and neglect cases declined slightly during that time, state statistics show. For the same period, reports of suspected neglect and abuse – which the state categorizes as physical, emotional or sexual […]
Posted inMaine, Nation / World
David Sorensen, former LePage adviser, resigns from White House after abuse allegations
A White House speechwriter resigned Friday after his former wife claimed that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent two-and-a-half-year marriage – allegations that he vehemently denied, saying she was the one who victimized him. The abrupt departure of David Sorensen, a speechwriter who worked closely with senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, came […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bills to increase accountability for Maine's intellectually disabled get strong support
AUGUSTA — Parents and caretakers said Wednesday they strongly support two bills to increase the accountability and transparency of the Department of Health and Human Services’ role in overseeing care for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. “I would feel better,” Darla Stimpson Chafin told the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee at a public […]
Posted inFranklin
Former Maine DHHS employee pleads guilty to lesser charge
FARMINGTON — A former state employee Tuesday withdrew her guilty plea to drunken driving and pleaded guilty to driving to endanger. Joan M. Smyrski, 63, of Jefferson pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2017, to operating under the influence and entered an agreement that delayed sentencing for one year in a Franklin County court. A deputy from […]