Maine Child Protection Workers Express No Confidence in Agency Director
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Maine Trust For Local NewsMaine Child Protection Workers Express No Confidence in Agency Director
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Maine Trust For Local NewsLetter signed by 145 Maine DHHS caseworkers, community care workers
and case aides declaring no confidence in Maine DHHS Office of Child
and Family Services Director Bobbi Johnson and asking Governor Janet Mills
and Maine DHHS Commissioner Sarah Gagne-Homes to replace her
immediately:
Members of MSEA-SEIU employed by the State of Maine, Department of Health and Human Services,
Office of Child and Family Services, are deeply committed to serving the most vulnerable citizens of the
State of Maine: children.
A common theme throughout the descriptions of the poor functioning of OCFS was this: a top-down
decision-making process operating without input from the front-line workforce. Even when feedback
was sent to leadership, it was often not even acknowledged, let alone evaluated or discussed. This
resulted in the commonplace practice of Central Office issuing unilateral changes to policies and
procedures that lacked any expressed rationale, were communicated slowly and unevenly statewide,
and often overrode specific local practices that had been collaboratively created in field offices by those
doing the daily work. What was also made clear was that none of these practices began with the Landry
directorship. Indeed, these concerns had long been embedded in the OCFS culture. Embedded in the
Landry directorship are staff who are now in the roles of Commissioner and Directors within the
Department of Health and Human Services.
Director Bobbi Johnson has actively demonstrated that she is unable to ensure the well-being and safety
of children and OCFS staff by refusing to address the housing of children in hotels. First and foremost,
holding children in hotels or emergency rooms only increases the trauma for children. The Director’s
inaction in finding an alternate to the warehousing of children in hotels or emergency rooms lends to the
perception by many frontline workers that those in Central Office are reinforcing the misconception that
hotels and emergency rooms are the only options for housing children. The focus on scheduling and
costs associated with warehousing children in hotel and emergency rooms belies the actual needs of the
children.
Director Johnson was confirmed by the Maine Legislature after a confirmation hearing in which she
pledged to have open and honest communication with all stakeholders, including frontline employees.
Yet even prior to the confirmation hearing, Director Johnson under the letterhead of then acting
Commissioner Gagne-Holmes sent out unilateral changes affecting long-standing scheduling policies
(Intake/CES/Hotel/ER).
OCFS frontline staff fully understand overtime is a necessity in a child protective position. Every OCFS
frontline employee knows they will sometimes miss planned personal activities or be required to work
on holidays, since the OCFS never closes under any circumstances. The objection we raise to these
unilateral statewide changes is the inevitable decrease in our ability to reliably plan social time or make
commitments to anyone outside of our employer. This should not be expected of any worker,
particularly ones who have chosen to work in this difficult field. We should all have significant periods of
non-scheduled work time that are free of the looming possibility of being mandated to work overtime.
When the new policy on scheduling was first announced in June 2024, members reached out via the
OCFS’ Town Hall aka all staff meetings process to express concerns over seniority, the lack of
predictability, the loss of credit for previous coverage of shifts, increase mandating, loss of vacation
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rights, etc. Multiple members can attest to Director Johnson’s refusal to answer questions and dismissal
of expressed concerns at these staff meetings. Concerns about after-hours coverage were identified
back in 2021 as a significant factor for retention within OCFS; the 2021 Child Welfare Annual
Report_0.pdf report (pages 4 & 5) indicated a workgroup of District staff was convened to examine the
after-hours practice. However, when asked who developed the new June 2024 procedure/policy,
Director Bobbi Johnson refused to name who was in the working group or even reference that the 2021
Casey Family Programs’ recommendations on Collaborative Science were followed in developing this
new policy for scheduling.
Under the MSEA-SEIU contract, impact bargaining can be requested when the employer institutes policy
which conflict with the MSEA-SEIU contract. Impact Bargaining was conducted with the assistance of
MSEA-SEIU through the summer of 2024. During the impact meetings, members submitted multiple
impact statements explaining how the new schedule would impact their work/life balance due to the
unpredictability of the new procedure. Surveys were developed and circulated by members; the surveys
demonstrated significant dissatisfaction with the proposed schedule. Members wrote and gathered
signatures asking Commissioner Gagne-Holmes and Director Bobbi Johnson to rescind the new
scheduling policy. Presentation of said survey and petitions at impact bargaining proved fruitless despite
the best efforts of members. Over the objection of MSEA SEIU members, the new policy was
implemented on November 1, 2024.
Additionally; throughout the years, OCFS workers who are required to provide services to children placed
in hotels or emergency rooms have voiced concerns about the mental health and safety of children
lodged in hotel rooms. Concerns ranged from poor nutrition, inadequate behavioral health services,
aggressive behaviors, frequent staff changes, etc. The need to address all these concerns are
documented in multiple reports and opinion pieces by Maine Children’s Alliance, Maine’s Government
Oversight Committee, and even within the Department of Health and Human Services. To name just a
few:
https://legislature.maine.gov/backend/app/services/getDocument.aspx?documentId=107569
https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/10/12/sen-craig-hickman-we-must-protect-all-our-children/
Commentary: It’s time to build the public and political will to help Maine families
2023 Annual Report for Maine Child Welfare Ombudsman
Safety issues time after time and in meeting after meeting have been raised by OCFS staff:
1. Aggressive children have assaulted staff in hotel rooms.
2. Safety concerns have been addressed by the directive to call local law enforcement.
3. Staff do not want to nor do they have the training to safely restrain dysregulated minors.
4. Staff mandated to cover a hotel shift, then having to attend court, are concerned about making
errors in their presentation of the case to the court system.
5. Staff mandated to cover multiple shifts within 24-36 hours are concerned about the safety of
driving (to the public and themselves).
6. Staff are not certified in the administration of medications. Additionally, questions have arisen
over medication not in locked boxes.
7. Staff are concerned with the resultant mandated long hours; vital information will not be
documented in their cases and critical deadlines will be missed.
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All of the above concerns have been raised in meetings with Director Johnson and the significance of
these concerns have been dismissed as a failure on the frontline staff to adapt to the demands of the
work.
Director Johnson consistently demonstrate a blatant failure to listen to the concerns of the frontline
OCFS staff prior to or even post-implementation of policies and procedures, jeopardizing Maine’s
vulnerable citizens and the OCFS staff who serve them.
For these reasons, we have no confidence in Director Johnson’s ability to lead the Department of Health
and Human Services, Office of Child and Family Services. We call on Commissioner Gagne-Holmes and
Governor Janet Mills to replace Director Johnson immediately. Furthermore, we call on Commissioner
Gagne-Holmes and Governor Janet Mills to move beyond platitudes by working with the Legislature and
frontline OCFS workers in developing alternatives to warehousing children in emergency rooms and
hotels.
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