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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1261
H.P. 836 House of Representatives, March 25, 2025
An Act to Support At-risk Families by Establishing the Community
Navigator Pilot Program
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BRENNAN of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator INGWERSEN of York and
Representatives: CLOUTIER of Lewiston, GRAMLICH of Old Orchard Beach, MEYER of
Eliot, MOONEN of Portland, SARGENT of York, SHAGOURY of Hallowell, Senator:
PIERCE of Cumberland.
Page 1 - 132LR1717(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §3877 is enacted to read:
3§3877. Community Navigator Pilot Program
4 The Community Navigator Pilot Program, referred to in this section as "the pilot
5 program," is established within the department as a 2-year pilot program to award contracts
6 through the department to 4 child abuse and neglect prevention councils selected by the
7 department for 4 community navigators.
81. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context indicates otherwise, the
9 following terms have the following meanings.
10 A. "Community services" means services that provide assistance to individuals or
11 families, including but not limited to the following services: physical and mental health
12 care; housing assistance; food access assistance; fuel assistance; child care;
13 transportation; employment training; and substance use disorder treatment.
14 B. "Mandated reporter" means an adult person required pursuant to section 4011-A,
15 subsection 1 to report or cause a report to be made to the department when the person
16 knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been or is likely to be abused
17 or neglected or that a suspicious child death has occurred.
18 C. "Screened out," with respect to a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, means
19 the department has determined that the report does not meet the department's criteria
20 to open a child protective services investigation.
212. Community navigator; service population. A community navigator under the pilot
22 program shall work with the following populations:
23 A. Families that have been reported to the department for suspected child abuse or
24 neglect, and the report was screened out, but the families would likely benefit from
25 available community services for support and to prevent the need for intervention by
26 child protective services in the future;
27 B. Mandated reporters that reported to the department a family described in paragraph
28 A; and
29 C. Mandated reporters generally, including, but not limited to, teachers, social workers
30 and medical professionals.
313. Services provided by community navigator. This subsection governs the services
32 provided by a community navigator under the pilot program.
33 A. A community navigator shall work with a family described in subsection 2,
34 paragraph A to connect that family with appropriate community services. When
35 appropriate, the community navigator may involve in this process the mandated
36 reporter that reported the suspected child abuse or neglect, including, but not limited
37 to, the child's teacher or social worker.
38 B. A community navigator shall engage in outreach activities to provide education and
39 guidance to mandated reporters designed to:
40 (1) Improve mandated reporters' knowledge of available community services and
41 other resources;
Page 2 - 132LR1717(01)
1 (2) Instruct mandated reporters how to refer a family to community services in the
2 area where the family resides; and
3 (3) Provide mandated reporters with guidelines for working directly with families
4 in need to help shift the role of mandated reporters from just reporting suspected
5 child abuse or neglect to actively supporting families in need.
64. Contracts awarded; funding. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the
7 contrary, the department shall award a contract to 4 child abuse and neglect prevention
8 councils for a community navigator under the pilot program in accordance with this
9 subsection. The department shall determine to which child abuse and neglect prevention
10 councils the contracts are awarded based on which child abuse and neglect prevention
11 councils are most prepared to participate in the pilot program. The department shall provide
12 funding for each community navigator in the amount of $90,000 per community navigator,
13 per year, for both year one and year 2 of the pilot program. The department shall award
14 the contracts pursuant to this subsection no later than December 1, 2025.
155. Repeal. This section is repealed January 30, 2028.
16SUMMARY
17 This bill establishes a 2-year pilot program in the Department of Health and Human
18 Services to award contracts to 4 child abuse and neglect prevention councils in this State
19 for a community navigator position within each council. The bill requires community
20 navigators to work with families who have been reported to the department for suspected
21 child abuse or neglect but have been determined by the department to not meet the criteria
22 for a child protective services investigation. Community navigators are required to help
23 connect these families with community services as needed.
24 Under the bill, community navigators are required to provide outreach and education
25 to mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect to enhance their knowledge of
26 available community services for families and how to connect families with those services.
27 The educational outreach must also provide mandated reporters with guidelines for
28 working directly with families in need to help shift the role of mandated reporters from just
29 reporting suspected child abuse or neglect to actively supporting families in need.
30 The bill requires the department to provide funding for the community navigators in
31 the amount of $90,000 per position, per year, for both year one and year 2 of the pilot
32 program. The department must determine to which child abuse and neglect councils the
33 contracts are awarded based on which child abuse and neglect prevention councils are most
34 prepared to participate in the pilot program.
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