Maine lawmakers have blueprint for reworking youth behavioral health services

The findings of a report on the state’s youth mental health services are straightforward — and rightfully harsh.

Behavioral health services for children are not available quickly — or, sometimes, at all. Too often services are not available in the communities where the children who need them live. When Maine children do get services, the quality is inconsistent, and there is little coordination, especially as they transition to adulthood.

More >> Maine lawmakers have blueprint for reworking youth behavioral health services

First review in two decades shows all the ways Maine failed kids with mental health problems

A private consulting firm has concluded that Maine can do far more to serve children with behavioral and mental health needs, after finishing a wholesale review of services in the state.

After five months of interviews, data analysis, surveys and town hall meetings, Boston-based Public Consulting Group determined that services are often not available immediately or at all for children with behavior and conduct disorders, autism, developmental delays, depression or anxiety, post-traumatic stress and attention deficit disorder.

More >> First review in two decades shows all the ways Maine failed kids with mental health problems

Gov. Janet Mills said she wants to bring back the Children’s Cabinet. Here’s what that is.

What have we gotten ourselves into?  

During the past year, the violent deaths of two little girls and the prevalence of mental illness among teens in Maine’s youth prison have stoked worries about how the state cares for its kids.

The prominence of these concerns earned them a place in the inauguration speech of Gov. Janet Mills. But the Democrat’s first move to address complex issues that span the work of different state agencies will likely be obscure to most Mainers.

More >> Gov. Janet Mills said she wants to bring back the Children’s Cabinet. Here’s what that is.

• Our View: Mills should close Maine’s youth prison
• Governor Mills signs Executive Order to implement Medicaid Expansion

LePage slashed the number of Mainers who rely on state assistance. Here are the results

At the end of this article, they talk about changes LePage has made to the Child Welfare (CPS) System in Maine.   This is a sugar coated version. 

During his eight years in office, Gov. Paul LePage has pushed to streamline state government and reduce spending. His path to achieving that objective has cut through the state’s safety net programs, from trimming the number of Mainers who receive food assistance to cutbacks at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

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National report: Maine ranks 16th in protecting kids from tobacco

Maine ranks 16th nationwide in funding programs that prevent kids from using tobacco and help smokers quit, according to a new report by leading public health groups. Maine is spending $4.8 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is just 30.4% of the $15.9 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report — "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 Tobacco Settlement 20 Years Later" — was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and Truth Initiative.

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News conference set for Monday in case of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds

The lawyer for missing toddler Ayla Reynolds’ mother says he plans to hold a news conference Monday in Portland to talk about what he plans to do next in the case.

William Childs, of the law firm Childs Rundlett Fifield & Altshuler, in Portland, said he and Ayla’s mother, Trista Reynolds, will make brief statements and then take questions.

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Janet Mills Announces Pick To Lead Maine DHHS

A Maine native who worked in health policy in both the Obama and Clinton administrations has been nominated to be the state’s next commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services.

At a press conference in Augusta on Friday, Gov.-elect Janet Mills announced that Jeanne Lambrew is her pick to lead DHHS, which has been racked by controversy over child abuse deaths, Medicaid expansion, welfare reform and the opioid crisis.

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