AUGUSTA — A new report estimates that Maine failed to comply with all federal standards in 94% of child abuse and neglect cases, including failures related to screening, safety assessments and investigations.

The report from the Office of Inspector General at the federal Department of Health and Human Services is part of a series of audits of how states are complying with federal regulations.

Maine is the first state to receive such an audit, following a risk assessment and a report by the Maine Child Welfare Ombudsman that identified lapses, according to the report.

The biggest failure is with providing written notifications to parents within 10 days of an investigative decision. Of the reports examined, in 92 cases, the notification was not sent on time, the report found.

“Failure to notify the parent or caregiver of investigation results could increase the risk or recurrence of abuse and neglect to children,” the report states.

As an example, a parent with joint custody who is not an alleged abuser may send a child back into the home without knowing about the abuse, according to the report.

But Maine DHHS officials said in response to the report that it is outdated and that many changes have already been made, including to a computer system used by the department.

“Two to three years have elapsed since the completion of these investigations and significant work was undertaken in that time to improve staffing, address workload concerns,” and update policies and procedures, according to a letter signed by DHHS Commissioner Sara Gagne-Holmes and Office of Child and Family Services Director Bobbi Johnson.

Both are relatively new to their positions, with Gagne-Holmes earning Senate confirmation in October and Johnson being named to her position in January.

But both held prior leadership posts with the department, leading an advocacy group for children to continue to call for more change at DHHS.

“Walk a Mile in Their Shoes continues to believe that fundamentally changing the outcomes for vulnerable children starts with improving agency culture,” the group said in a statement.

The group, founded by former state Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Windham), notes that Gagne-Holmes and Johnson were both in management positions during the period in which the audit found significant shortfalls.

“This is the reason promises of change often ring hollow,” they said.

The state’s child welfare agency has been under intense scrutiny for three years, following four child deaths in a short span of time in the summer of 2021.

Lawmakers ordered the state’s watchdog agency to investigate each case. In all instances, the families had been served by DHHS prior to the deaths of the children, all of whom were 4 years old or younger.

Two mothers and two fathers were convicted on charges relating the deaths of their children and have been sentenced to prison.

And while calls to create a separate agency dedicated to child welfare have failed for years, lawmakers did invest millions to beef up staffing and payrates in hopes of alleviating high workloads and burn out.

DHHS officials also told lawmakers on multiple occasions that other factors — such as substance-use disorder and a lack of statewide mental health services — often contribute to child abuse and neglect.

In addition to the lack of timely written notifications, the federal report found that:

• In 59 instances, safety assessments were not completed as required.
• In 44 reports, investigations were not completed within 35 days of screening.
• And in 17 instances, initial interviews with children and adults were not always completed as required.

The report made five recommendations, including additional training for caseworkers and supervisors and improvements to written policies.

“Abuse and neglect against a child by a parent, caregiver or another person can have a long-term impact on the child’s health, opportunity and well-being,” the report notes.

A department spokeswoman said in an email that audit reflects “many of the important steps (the department) has already taken or is in the process of implementing.”

Lindsay Hammes, the spokeswoman, also noted that the recommendations “reinforce our focus on strengthening policy, training, and supervisory support for staff to ensure quality and consistency of practices statewide.”