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Maine's watchdog agency has spent the past couple years trying to understand the circumstances of four tragic deaths that occurred in 2021, those of three-year-old Hailey Goding, three-year-old Maddox Williams, six-week-old Jaden Harding and one-month-old Sylus Melvin.

Our government accountability reporter Josh Keefe was at the statehouse on Wednesday when the agency presented the findings from its fourth and final report. One lawmaker asked the obvious question: What would you do differently? The child welfare director's answer: It's complicated. 

In today's story, Josh takes a close look at the four reports: 177 pages later, what have we really learned? Some of it is familiar: too few workers with too high caseloads, a lack of necessary services across the state. But there's more to it.

It's also worth noting, as Josh has reported before: the amount of information we have about these children is unusual — most child welfare cases are shrouded in secrecy, including those where children are taken away unnecessarily.

In other news, I'll be manning our booth at the Common Ground Fair today, and would love to hear what you think we should tackle next. Hope to see you there.

— Stephanie

Maine’s watchdog agency spent years investigating four child deaths. Here are the takeaways.

“Throughout our review of the child protective services system, OPEGA has observed a disconnect between what the public expects the system is (or should be) doing and what the system is actually doing or capable of doing (as informed by law and policy),” the watchdog agency wrote in its report on Maddox Williams. “The field of child welfare exists as an array of competing interests that strike a delicate balance. Not everyone will agree as to what best serves a child, but it is a topic worthy of further discussion.” 

Read this story by Josh Keefe.

Why is building and renovating schools so expensive?: Maine Department of Education data of state-funded major construction projects shows how costs have grown in recent years. Read this story by Lana Cohen.

Farmington’s only homeless shelter closed in 2020. Efforts to open a new one have failed: In western Maine, services are provided through a decentralized patchwork of nonprofits, school liaisons and other assistance programs. Read this story by Ben Hanstein.

Chasing Maine: The Miracle Dog: The story of Erika Mazuzan and her family's search for their lost dog is one full of compassion and persistence. Watch this video by Roger McCord.

Maine launched its first Inflation Reduction Act rebates. What’s next?: The new funding could fill some gaps, but bandwidth for actually using the money at the local level may remain a challenge. Read this story by Annie Ropeik.

Desperate to change

After losing custody of her first five daughters because of an opiate addiction, a Maine mother battles her illness and the odds to keep her new baby.

Read this story by Barbara A. Walsh. 

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

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