Supporters of a bill that would give certain lawmakers access to confidential child protective records will make another push this week to enact a reform they say is necessary to hold the state accountable.

They plan to rally on Wednesday, when the Maine Legislature returns to Augusta to take action on bills vetoed by the governor, in hopes of pressuring the House to take a final vote on a proposal that would allow the Government Oversight Committee to access the records in limited circumstances.

In early April, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve the bill, LD 127, which would give the committee authority to access certain confidential records held by state agencies and departments. The House narrowly supported the measure, but did not suspend the rules to allow a second vote on the same day. The second vote could be held during what’s known as “veto day” or it could sit without another vote and die on adjournment.

Rep. David Boyer, R-Poland, who is organizing the rally in support of the bill, said the event will include speakers who he said have been directly impacted by issues within the Office of Child and Family Services and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

“It’s so crazy we have to fight for this bill to give our branch of government the power to do its job,” Boyer said. “At the end of the day, we’re talking about children’s lives.”

The push comes after lawmakers had mixed results on efforts to reform Maine’s child welfare system this session. The Legislature passed and Gov. Janet Mills signed into law a measure that will create a new Office of the Child Advocate. Another proposal that would have created a separate state department to handle child welfare is effectively dead after garnering some support in the Senate, but not in the House, said Sen. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, who sponsored the bill.

“We got quite a bit of lip service, but not many results,” said Timberlake, a longtime proponent of overhauling the state’s child welfare system.

The system has long been an area of concern for state policymakers and faced increased scrutiny starting in late 2017 and early 2018 following the deaths of four children who were in state custody or whose families had contact with child protective services. Since then, DHHS, which includes the Office of Child and Family Services, has faced calls for reform.

Department officials have said they have reduced the number of open caseworker positions and have been working on connecting families with support services so children don’t have to be removed. The number of children in state custody this year dipped below 2,000 for the first time since 2019.

DEBATE OVER RECORDS ACCESS

Supporters of LD 127 hope the proposal will get a final vote on Wednesday. The bill would authorize the Government Oversight Committee to meet in executive session to review working papers that were considered and referenced in Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability reports.

It requires members of the committee to sign a code of conduct in order to be authorized to meet in executive session, which they could only enter after a two-thirds vote in favor of meeting behind closed doors. The bill also allows lawmakers to be prosecuted, so anyone who released confidential information could be disciplined, said Timberlake, who serves on the committee.

During floor debates, there was pushback from lawmakers who said they were concerned that the confidential information could be leaked, used for political gain or deter families from engaging with child welfare services.

“I didn’t hear a sufficient reason why it would be important to give the Government Oversight Committee access to this private information,” Rep. David Sinclair, D-Bath, said in remarks on the floor.

The chief legal counsel for the governor’s office opposed the bill and said in testimony that it could “provide direct and unfettered access” to a range of confidential information, including mental health and child protective records, tax returns and criminal investigations.

Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, the Senate chair of the overnight committee, introduced the bill. He said the vote to not suspend the rules to take a final vote on a bill that appeared on its way to passage was “a little stunning.”

Hickman said he presented the legislation in response to a 2024 Maine Supreme Judicial Court decision to uphold a lower court ruling that DHHS did not have to comply with a request from lawmakers for records about the deaths of four children. The Government Oversight Committee sued the department in 2022 in an effort to obtain them.

Hickman believes the committee needs access to information reviewed by OPEGA in order to evaluate the work from that office and to hold the executive branch accountable.

“Hiding behind confidentiality to cover up secrecy doesn’t bode well for the children we are responsible for taking care of,” he said.

Earlier this year, Timberlake and several colleagues sent a letter to DHHS requesting information about the death last year of a 1-year-old Milford girl. The state medical examiner determined that Eleanora Ray McLaughlin died of hypothermia and the case remains under investigation.

Timberlake has said DHHS was involved with the family. State officials have said they are limited by state and federal privacy laws and cannot confirm if DHHS has had contact with the family.

Timberlake said the department responded to the request for information the same way it has to other requests about child welfare issues by saying it could not provide more details about what happened.

“We get the same answer every time,” he said. “They go hide behind the iron curtain.”

PUSH FOR STRUCTURAL CHANGE

The Legislature passed LD 1893, the bill to create the Office of the Child Advocate, which will advise the state government on child welfare complaints, strengthen watchdog services and make recommendations to help improve the child protective system. It replaces the child welfare ombudsman program that is currently part of OCFS.

Timberlake’s bill to create a Department of Child and Family Services to replace OCFS failed to pass both chambers. The Health and Human Services Committee voted to recommend the bill not be passed, but it received bipartisan support in the Senate. House lawmakers voted 75-72 in opposition.

Timberlake, who had proposed a similar bill in the last session, said he was not surprised by the outcome, but is frustrated that lawmakers haven’t supported an overhaul of the department. He also remains frustrated that lawmakers have to push so hard for information about what is happening within the department.

“We need structural change within the department if we expect to get results,” he said.