Provide Input for the Maine Child Safety and Family Well-Being Plan

We can keep children safe by keeping families strong.

Please join Mariette Aborn, Special Projects Manager for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), as she and her colleagues from Maine Child Welfare Action Network (MCWAN) welcome you to provide input on the next version - Version 2.0 - of the Maine Child Safety and Well-Being Plan. Join them for a virtual community engagement session on Tuesday, September 17th.

Virtual community engagement sessions are one of the ways that DHHS and MCWAN gather input to inform the ongoing development and implementation of the Child Safety and Well-Being Plan. These sessions are intended for community partners, parents, caregivers, and other partners in Maine. Over the last year and a half, DHHS and MCWAN have held 17 of these sessions.

The next session will be Tuesday, September 17 from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm on Zoom. Register at this link.

Feedback from community and state partners informed Version 1.0 of the Plan, which was released in May 2023. Version 1.0 outlined the framework and opportunities for immediate action to develop a Child and Family Well-Being System in Maine. A long-term version of the Plan is in development and will build on Version 1.0's call for the state and communities to share responsibility for child safety and family well-being.

During this session, Aborn and colleagues will:

• Provide an update on the implementation of Version 1.0, including the Be There for ME campaign and website to support parents and caregivers in Maine.
• Outline the ongoing process of developing the long-term version of the Child and Family Well-Being Plan.
• Gather insight into local and community-based efforts that support transportation and provide concrete support to families, such as diapers, clothing, household items, and food.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Child Welfare Action Network have partnered on this plan to keep children in Maine safe by keeping families strong. This newsletter shares updates on state and community efforts to strengthen families and opportunities to inform this ongoing work. Learn more and read Version 1.0 of the plan here.

Organizations and resources included are for reference and information only, they are not an endorsement from the Maine Department of Education.

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