I am writing regarding the news article on May 25, “Workers failed in deaths of 2 girls.” As a resident of Maine, I am sick and tired of government investigations that basically tell us nothing. This report claims state workers dropped the ball, yet they cannot tell us what really happened because of confidentiality of child protective services.

The governor and the commissioner of health and human services should be held responsible for what happens in their department. The Legislature needs to make sure that happens.

Thanks to the federal government, we recently heard that DHHS failed by not investigating 133 deaths of people under its care between 2013 and 2015, nine or 10 of which were suspicious.

In today’s world, politicians and their appointed employees only take responsibility if something good happens. These politicians seem to have no problem passing the buck and not taking responsibility. Gov. Paul LePage and Mary Mayhew, his former DHHS commissioner, are pros at passing the buck. Before investigators blame state workers for all that happened, let us make sure they can back it up.

The following questions need to be asked: What really happened in the cases of the two little girls? Have the caseloads of these workers increased during this administration?

Do we have fewer case workers now? Are the 133 deaths now being investigated? If not, when are they going to start?

This is a very serious problem and I, for one, am sick of lip service. Voters should know the answers to the above questions before the next election. How many people must die before we find out what is really happening in DHHS? LePage and Mayhew have told us how much money they saved us, but at what cost?

Davy Crockett

Augusta