A legislative panel voted Friday to appeal a Superior Court decision that ruled that they do not have the power to review confidential child protection files.

The 6-4 vote of the Government Oversight Committee continues the legal challenge that began in October when the committee filed suit against the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

At issue are the case files involving the deaths of four children ages 4 or younger in the summer of 2021. Lawmakers have said they want to review those files as part of their investigation into what they believe could be systemic failures in the state’s child protection system.

But a Superior Court judge ruled in December that the way state law is written does not give lawmakers the right to see the files.

Instead, DHHS has turned the files over to staff at the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, which is reviewing the records and is set to report their findings to the committee Feb. 10.

A DHHS spokeswoman said in a statement that the department has cooperated fully with the accountability office.

"With this new appeal, we again look forward to the Court's resolution of this issue so we can advance our vital work with partners throughout the state to protect Maine children from abuse and neglect," Jackie Farwell said via email.

The files lawmakers are seeking include one on Maddox Williams, 3, whose mother Jessica Trefethen, 36, was found guilty in October of depraved indifference murder. In December, she was sentenced to 47 years in prison.

The other files relate to the deaths of Jayden Harding, 6-weeks-old; Hailey Goding, 3, and Sylus Melvin, 1-month-old.

All of the children allegedly died at the hands of one of their parents.

During Friday’s discussion, Rep. Sawin Millett (R-Waterford) said lawmakers should appeal the court decision, file legislation to clarify the law and continue to press for answers about the child deaths.

“I have mixed emotions about it, but I do feel the burden is on us to act,” he said. “We need to get to a point of decisions about how these tragic events can be prevented in the future and what corrective action needs to be taken in the shorter term.”

Rep. Maggie O’Neil (D-Saco) opposed the appeal, saying she feels the committee’s time is better spent investigating ways to help families stay out of the child protection system.

“What I want to see is families not getting in this position in the first place,” she said. “I would hope we could work together to think about recommendations that we can make to the Legislature in the prevention realm.”

Last week, the Maine Child Welfare Ombudsman’s office released a report that indicated that the state continued “a downward trend in child welfare practice” in 2022.

“Of particular note this fiscal year, there were multiple instances where the department did not recognize risk to children, both during investigations and reunification cases,” according to the report.

In response, DHHS said the office examined only 85 cases out of 11,000 reports assigned to the department.

Lawmakers in recent years have been pushing for improvements in the state’s child protection system.

On Tuesday, former state Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Windham) is scheduled to announce the formation of a new nonprofit foundation called Walk A Mile In Their Shoes, which has as its mission “the prevention of child homicides and the abuse of children who are under the supervision or direct care of the State of Maine or who have been associated with the state’s Child Protective System.”

Diamond is listed as the group’s founder and he is expected to announce an advisory board that includes former Gov. John Baldacci and Michael Petit, a former DHHS commissioner, according to a press release.