MAINE
Portland Press Herald
BY JOE LAWLOR
STAFF WRITER
The Maine House voted Tuesday to rescue a $2.2 million child abuse prevention program in an attempt to overturn efforts by the LePage administration to terminate it.
The bill to save the Community Partnerships for Protecting Children has attracted bipartisan support, with Democratic lawmakers joined by Republican Senate Majority Leader Michael Thibodeau and Republican Sen. Amy Volk of Scarborough. The measure was approved on a voice vote and will now go to the Senate.
The state is considering reforms in its child abuse protection system after a public outcry following the recent deaths of 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy of Stockton Springs and 4-year-old Kendall Chick of Wiscasset. The parents or caregivers of both children have been charged with depraved indifference murder in their deaths.
Maine Department of Health and Human Services officials announced in February that the child abuse prevention program would end in September. The bill would extend funding through Jan. 31 to give the incoming administration time to evaluate the program. Gov. Paul LePage is finishing his final term, and a new governor will take over in January. Democratic, Republican and independent candidates will vie in November to succeed LePage.
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