Gov. Mills has yet to meet with child caseworkers sounding alarms about protection system

Gov. Janet Mills said in January that she planned to talk to front-line caseworkers about the problems plaguing the state’s child welfare agency, but that conversation never happened, her office acknowledged.

Meanwhile, front-line caseworkers have increasingly sounded alarms about high caseloads, inadequate training and a sense that administrators have not been listening. Several former and current caseworkers testified publicly before lawmakers about the problems, and last week lawmakers received nearly a dozen exit interviews from workers who left the agency’s Lewiston office, which has been hit hard by resignations.

Gov. Janet Mills Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press

“Many longtime workers are feeling that the Central Office is not listening, not taking our ideas, not bending at all,” said a caseworker who left a job in April. “Why are we not trying these things? Why can’t we keep workers? Why is no one looking at these things?”

A worker who left in March 2022 said they raised concerns about their caseload to a supervisor and was told, “you’re replaceable, go ahead and leave.”

Lawmakers on the Government Oversight Committee have been conducting an in-depth review of cases involving four children who died within weeks of each other in the summer of 2021. Each family had some contact with the child welfare system before the children died. The review has broadened into an examination of the agency’s general ability protect children from abuse and neglect.

The committee members are trying to come up with systemic changes that balance the safety of children and the rights of parents. They began meeting on a weekly basis in November to discuss potential improvements for lawmakers to consider when they return to Augusta on Jan. 3.

An independent nonprofit, Walk a Mile in Their Shoes, also is investigating the office and will release its report and recommendations for system improvements on Tuesday. The group was established by former state Sen. Bill Diamond, a Democrat from Windham.

The group conducted listening sessions across the state over the last year with caseworkers, foster families and others with first-hand experience. Its recommendations include providing administrative support to caseworkers so they can focus on social work, while also strengthening the role foster parents play in the family reunification process.

Aides to the governor said Mills has met with Diamond and with the state’s child welfare ombudsman, who issued a scathing annual report early this year about weakness in the child welfare system. It’s not clear why the governor never met with caseworkers.

In January, Mills said during an interview on Maine Public’s “Maine Calling” program that she planned to meet with the ombudsman and “also discuss it with the child welfare workers – with the people on the ground – to find out what they’re seeing and hearing.”

Aides in her office on Friday said that she hasn’t “had the opportunity” to meet with caseworkers over the past year, despite evidence the problems had worsened and more caseworkers were quitting. Aides did not respond to follow up questions Monday about what steps the governor took to hear directly from caseworkers.

The governor’s office rejected requests to interview Mills about the child welfare system in recent weeks and instead requested a list of questions to pass along to the governor.

The Press Herald sent the governor’s office written questions on Nov. 20. The list of questions included whether Mills followed through with her plan to hear from caseworkers, whether she had been listening to caseworker testimony before lawmakers and whether she still had confidence in the leadership of Todd Landry, the director of the Office of Child and Family Services.

One week later, Landry abruptly resigned amid mounting criticism, citing undisclosed “personal reasons.”

TOXIC WORK CULTURE

Mills responded to the questions two weeks after Landry’s resignation with a lengthy prepared statement acknowledging problems and citing efforts to improve the system. The statement did not directly respond to many of the questions, although Mills said she listened to caseworkers testify before lawmakers and is concerned about what they said.

Each child death is a tragedy that leaves her “devastated, heartbroken and angry,” Mills said. She also wonders what more could have been done to prevent them.

Mills’ said she is hopeful new leadership will provide an opportunity to improve the culture and cited “important investments to strengthen the child welfare system, including investments to hire more caseworkers and to implement new programs, partnerships, and plans – all of which is meaningful.”

Mills also told the Press Herald that her administration is considering using money saved from other unfilled state positions to offer additional recruitment and retention payments.

Caseworkers have said the problems go well beyond compensation. Few who testified before lawmakers or gave exit interviews cited a lack of pay as a problem, and instead say they’re leaving because of a toxic work culture, where bosses have unrealistic expectations and don’t support caseworkers or listen to their ideas for improvements.

The names of the workers were redacted from the exit interview transcripts before being released publicly.

“I am taking a huge pay cut just to leave,” said the caseworker who left in April.

A caseworker left in February 2022 without having another job lined up.

“My therapist told me I need to be done with this job as it was causing me so much stress,” the caseworker said. “I’m taking some time away to help heal myself. I really wanted to do this job, so it’s very hard to step away.”

LACK OF TRAINING

New caseworkers, especially those fresh out of school, quickly leave because they are not trained to handle the complex and emotionally charged family situations that often are compounded by substance use, mental health problems and domestic violence. They cite a lack appropriate mentorship, with some young caseworkers lacking basic childcare knowledge.

Caseworkers also are expected to compile and fill out legal paperwork to remove children from dangerous situations, despite have no legal training. Any effort to remove a child from a dangerous home or end parental rights must be approved by a court.

A worker who left in February 2022 said the assistant attorneys general she worked with “talk down to” and “shamed” caseworkers, who are responsible for filling out court petitions and gathering evidence for a removal without having any legal training. That worker also noted that her supervisor wasn’t in the office much.

“I didn’t realize how much legal was involved in this position,” they said. “It is a very administrative heavy job, (and) not much opportunity to do social work. It’s super intimidating to write a petition.”

Caseworkers also are forced to work overtime shifts to supervise children who are removed from their families and staying in hotels, emergency rooms or child welfare offices. And those mandatory overtime shifts come after a caseworker has worked all day and is expected to return for their regular shift the following day.

Caseworkers said they have been discouraged from raising concerns to middle and upper managers, and their ideas for improving the system – whether it’s instituting a robust mentorship program, getting more help to file paperwork and conduct research, or partnering with community organizations to meet basic needs of children entering state care – have been met with silence.

One exit interview question seems to acknowledge that front-line workers are discouraged from speaking to top leaders. It asks, “If you could talk to Dr. Landry and (Associate Director of Child Welfare Services) Bobbi Johnson about retention, what would you tell them they need to do to retain workers?”

“I responded to one of the commissioner’s emails and got nothing,” said a caseworker who left in June 2022. “I sent a message to Dr. Landry and he sent me back a ridiculous letter. He didn’t take any of my concerns seriously. … It feels like there is no power to make a stand.”

PROBLEMS ACKNOWLEDGED

Last week, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew testified before the oversight committee and acknowledged that the agency has not kept pace as the problems it faces have mounted. As of last week, 79 of the state’s 445 caseworker positions, 18%, were vacant, she said.

“We have to figure out a way to stabilize the system,” she said.

In her statement to the Press Herald, Mills also acknowledged that the problems have worsened.

“We recognize that performance on some key child welfare metrics has worsened and that staff vacancy rates have risen since 2020,” Mills said. “I have also listened to caseworkers testify before the Government Oversight Committee, and I have heard their reports of being overworked and overburdened and feeling unsupported. All of these concern me.”

Mills said that Lambrew and Johnson, who is now the acting director, are working to improve training, mentorship and communication for caseworkers, including “improving the pathways” for their ideas and criticisms.

She also said a change in leadership “offers an opportunity for a reset.” She said her administration is conducting a national search for Landry’s replacement, and would include people from Maine.

“We are also committed to improving the culture within the Office of Child and Family Services,” Mills said. “I share the commissioner’s desire to find a director who demonstrates an inclusive and empathetic leadership style and who can strengthen support for the dedicated staff at OCFS, who understands the complexity of the child welfare, child care and children’s behavioral health, and who is committed to the hard work of making needed improvements.”

The caseworker who left in April suggested the whole system needs to be reviewed. “I would tell them they need to look at this from start to finish,” they said.