Child and Family Services joins with families and the community to promote long-term safety, wellbeing, and permanent families for children.
Katahdin Child Welfare System for Mandated Reporters
Mandated reporters (medical professionals, hospital staff, school personnel, and law enforcement personnel) can report non-emergency information related to child abuse and/or neglect online using the Katahdin Child Welfare System.
Information for families involved with Child Protective Services
Updates on Child Welfare System Improvement Efforts
In July 2019, Maine's Office of Child and Family Services partnered with Casey Family Programs to map the major initiatives and strategies currently underway in Maine. This mapping was designed to help executive leadership and regional staff evaluate which strategies were working to produce outcomes and areas where duplication of effort or inefficiencies might exist. As a result of this work, the Office of Child and Family Services streamlined the approach and prioritized strategies as shown below in the strategic framework. OCFS thanks staff, stakeholders, and families who contributed to the development of the framework.
Child Welfare Annual Report Published December 2020 (PDF). This report includes OCFS’ progress in implementing the child welfare strategic priorities over the previous 15 months, as well as plan for system and operational improvements in the coming months. The report also addresses the impact of COVID-19 on child welfare operations over the previous nine months.
OCFS Report on October 2020 Child Welfare Forums (PDF). During the month of October 2020, the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) conducted a series of regional public forums to receive input on Maine’s child welfare system and discuss ideas meant to improve the system. These forums were a response to concerns raised by the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary regarding a lack of public awareness of the work of OCFS and the desire for an opportunity for OCFS to receive public input on system improvement efforts. Participants included a broad group of stakeholders including parents, resource parents, and providers from throughout the system of care. This report details the specifics of the forums, as well as the issues and themes identified during discussions with participants.
Child Welfare Caseload and Workload Analysis - January 2021 (PDF). As required by LD 821, this report provides an analysis to the Legislature recommending child welfare staffing levels to ensure appropriate caseloads. While it does not represent a policy proposal or funding request from the Department, the analysis will continue to inform our improvements to the child welfare system. We remain committed to building the system’s capacity at a pace that allows us to train and mentor new staff appropriately and support our existing staff in best meeting the needs of Maine children and families. We thank Governor Mills for her ongoing commitment to our child protective staff.