AUGUSTA, Maine — A legislative committee is going to sue the Maine Department of Health and Human Services for access to full investigative files on child murders.
The Government Oversight Committee took action Tuesday with an 8-1 vote after the agency failed to comply with a subpoena requesting the files.
The DHHS shared the files with the Legislature’s watchdog, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. But it did not share them with committee members.
Committee members said the refusal of the DHHS to comply with the subpoena violated the separation of powers.
“We cannot allow our role and authority as the legislative Branch — the representatives of the people — to be defined by the executive branch,” said Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Oxford.
A spokesperson for DHHS said the agency is following the attorney general’s legal advice. The attorney general is elected by the Maine Legislature, not appointed by the governor.
The death of 3-year-old Maddox Williams in Stockton Springs and three other children in the summer of 2021 drew statewide attention — and reform efforts by state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
In all, 29 children died last year and at least 27 had some sort of child protective history before or during their lives, according to state data, which is not a comprehensive list of all child deaths.
