Staff shortages plague ‘dumping ground’ for Maine youth with mental illness

PORTLAND, Maine — Corrections officials say Maine’s youth prison is overburdened by children with severe mental illnesses, and this population has driven away staff who are not trained to handle them.

This strain has additionally triggered a fresh round of infighting between two of the state’s largest departments, as health and human services officials clash with their counterparts in corrections over where the blame lies and how to solve the problem.

More >> Staff shortages plague ‘dumping ground’ for Maine youth with mental illness

Concerned groups force Maine Legislature to scrutinize DHHS child care rules

A LePage administration proposal to relax licensing requirements for in-home child care providers will receive the scrutiny of a legislative committee, after the administration indicated it would implement the new requirements without securing the Legislature’s approval.


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More Maine kids aren’t vaccinated, new data show

The number of parents opting out for philosophical or religious reasons has climbed, raising the risks of disease transmission.

More >> More Maine kids aren’t vaccinated, new data show

Review shows deficiencies at Maine youth prison following transgender teen suicide

An outside consultant hired by the Maine Department of Corrections to review suicide prevention practices at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland has found several deficiencies in the wake of a trangender teen resident’s suicide last year.

More >> Review shows deficiencies at Maine youth prison following transgender teen suicide

Among his recommendations:

• That the Maine DOC and/or the Maine Criminal Justice Academy develop a curriculum specific to suicide prevention in juvenile correctional facilities
• That all direct care, security, education, medical and mental health staff should receive eight hours of initial suicide prevention training, followed by a minimum of two hours of annual training
• That the comprehensive screening process for identification of suicide risk be improved
• That all youth on suicide precautions be allowed to attend school and receive family visits and telephone calls unless those privileges have been suspended

If they can't take care of the kids then they should just shut it down.  

New lead standard in Maine means more home inspections

This is another one of those feel good programs that I've written about before.  It looks good on paper, but is really nothing more than another way for the state to invite themselves into the homes of parents while forcing them or their landlords to pump all kinds of money into abatement or risk having their homes condemned.

Maine is testing more homes for lead, following a federal recommendation aiming to stop lead exposure before children become sick. 

More >> New lead standard in Maine means more home inspections

When I dealt with these people due to elevated lead levels in my daughters blood they found nothing.
We assume she got it somewhere else but still, what a nightmare.

• New effort highlights dangers of lead poisoning in Augusta, Hallowell, Gardiner