AUGUSTA, Maine — Acting director Bobbi Johnson was named Thursday as the permanent leader of Maine’s embattled child welfare office, which will also be audited and reorganize its behavioral health branch following scrutiny from lawmakers and advocates.
Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew announced that Johnson had been made the permanent Office of Child and Family Services director Thursday. Johnson held an interim title following Todd Landry’s resignation in November.
Johnson, who was previously the state’s associate director of child welfare services and started her career as a caseworker, has worked for DHHS for nearly 30 years. Though DHHS had launched a broader search for a director, it stuck with Johnson after Lambrew consulted with caseworkers who wanted a leader “who knows first-hand the challenges of working with families in distress” and can move quickly, a Thursday news release said.
Thursday’s announcement said Johnson will also lead a “rapid management audit” of the child welfare system that will examine the organization of central and district offices, communication processes, culture, leadership support and other questions, such as how to improve the Katahdin information technology system.
An outside organization will conduct the audit, which Johnson and lawmakers on the Government Oversight Committee had requested, and it will unveil short- and long-term recommendations by the end of March, according to DHHS.
The Children’s Behavioral Health Services branch will also transition from the child and family services office to the Office of Behavioral Health, the department said. It moves a 40-employee branch from an office with nearly 900 workers to one with fewer than 100, better balancing staff and allowing leaders to focus on core child welfare work, Gov. Janet Mills said.
Thursday’s reorganization does not go as far as what a pending bill from Sen. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, who serves on the Legislature’s oversight panel, calls for in turning OCFS into its own department, similar to what Washington and several other states have done.
But it is at least one sign of change for Maine’s embattled child welfare system that has come under pressure for the deaths of kids in state care and caseworkers repeatedly airing concerns about burnout, high turnover and a lack of support from leadership.
At least 34 children in Maine — the most on record for the state — died in 2021 in tracked incidents associated with abuse or neglect or occurring after a history of family involvement with the child welfare system, with 31 deaths in 2022 and at least 16 reported for 2023, per state data subject to updates.
“I come to this role with deep gratitude for the opportunity to better help Maine families, a sense of urgency to meet the challenges we face, and a belief that with continued hard work and dedication, we can,” Johnson said in a statement.
