According to data provided by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, About 500 children found permanent homes through adoption last year, while another 464 were able to return to their parents or other relatives. (Photo by seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty Images)
There were about 150 fewer children in Maine’s child welfare system at the start of this year than there were in September.
Office of Child and Family Services Director Bobbi Johnson shared this figure as part of her quarterly update to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee earlier this month. As the system has come under renewed scrutiny over the past year, Johnson said she wanted to share some of the positive developments at the agency.
The highlights included a pilot program for more timely payments to foster families and new tools and training for caseworkers to improve the risk assessment for children whose parents have a substance use disorder.
Johnson also expanded on the positive numbers, which she used to illustrate how the children in the the system are faring. Data from December that she shared with the committee showed that more children left state custody than were taken in and almost half of those who left returned to their parents or another relative, while most of the remainder found permanent homes through adoption.
“That’s the hard work that my staff are doing every day,” Johnson told the committee.
Maine Morning Star reviewed additional data from the Department of Health and Human Services showing the number of children who entered the state’s child welfare system in 2024, how many exited the system, and where they ended up.
Last year, 900 children entered into the state’s child welfare system. While it fluctuates month to month, on average, there were 2,520 children in state custody last year. That population peaked in April with 2,581, but steadily decreased in the second half of the year, ending with a total of 2,414 children in state custody in December.
Overall, more than 1,000 children left state custody last year. Every month since July, the number of children leaving was greater than the number entering.
While there were about 50 children who aged out of the system, meaning they exited care when they turned 18 without achieving a permanent outcome, most of the children who left the system were adopted or reunified with their families.
About 500 children found permanent homes through adoption last year, while another 464 were able to return to their parents or other relatives.
Over the past few months, Johnson has shared with lawmakers changes that she’s made since taking over the agency in early 2024. However, in December, 145 caseworkers sent a letter of no confidence aimed at Johnson and leadership from the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the state’s child welfare agency.
Recent reports from the agency ombudsman acknowledge that while progress has been made, there is still work to be done to improve its efficacy, particularly around initial investigations and the reunification of families.
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