The head of a state panel that reviews child deaths made several recommendations to lawmakers on Wednesday, including warning parents about the dangers of driving while under the influence of cannabis.
Mark Moran, a social worker who leads the Child Death and Serious Injury Review Panel, also reiterated suggestions first made in 2021 that the state should prohibit the marketing of cannabis products in packaging that appeals to children and require all cannabis products to be sold in child-proof packaging.
He also told members of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee that the state Office of Child and Family Services should:
- Consider missed well child visits as potential red flags in certain circumstances;
- Create a guide for emergency departments on how to evaluate children when a sibling is killed or injured;
- Work with law enforcement so case workers and police understand each other’s roles in critical situations.
He said that type of training would lead to “learning about the intricacies of each other’s work so that they enhance their ability to work together on these kinds of cases.”
Moran’s update came during a quarterly child welfare briefing that is part of efforts by state lawmakers to push for continued improvement in the child welfare system.
In 2021, the Government Oversight Committee directed the state’s watchdog office to begin an immediate review of child protective services following the deaths of four children aged 4 or younger.
Since then, the department has instituted several reforms, including filling vacancies and increasing pay for case workers, spending nearly $20 million to accelerate a child behavioral health plan and hiring a new director.
Bobbi Johnson, who worked in child protection for 30 years, was promoted in January to lead the Office of Child and Family Services.
Moran said it’s been a positive change.
“Leadership matters,” he said. “To have someone in place whose focus has always been on collaboration with community members, with service providers, I think has the potential to change some of these dynamics.”
When it comes to substance use, Moran said it’s now a risk factor for the removal of children from a home in 55% of cases. Statistics show incidents of ingestion of cannabis by children have increased from 11 in 2020 to 46 in 2023.
For opioids, the number has grown from nine in 2020 to 14 in 2023.
Moran also shared with the committee his 2021 testimony on a bill to ensure better oversight of cannabis in Maine.
“The unintentional ingestion of cannabis by children is a serious public health concern and is well-documented in the medical literature,” he told members of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Rep. Michele Meyer (D-Eliot) said pediatric exposure to cannabis has skyrocketed across the country and she’s concerned that the Legislature recently took action to weaken cannabis labeling regulations, rather than strengthen them.
“Let’s face it, one person’s therapeutic means of treating whatever’s ailing them is a child under five’s acute toxicity,” she said. “If we truly believe we can have an impact, all of us, on the health and wellbeing of children in Maine, we have to look at this issue.”