Maine Child Welfare Action Network

Every child has a right to grow up in a safe and supportive environment. We have an obligation and an opportunity to improve the way our child welfare system serves our children, youth, and families.

The Maine Child Welfare Action Network (MCWAN) is a group of organizations and individuals in Maine working together to align, strengthen, and sustain efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of all Maine children, youth, and families.

The Network was established in the fall of 2018 during collective efforts to identify a list of child welfare reform priorities in a letter to the incoming Governor. In February 2019, the Network issued its first publication, the Child Welfare Priority Reforms white paper that built upon this list of priorities. Since that time, the network has collectively produced a Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect issue brief (July 2021), a Family Reunification Issue Brief(September 2022) and a Framework for Child Welfare Reform (January 2022) with opportunities for action. We recently updated this framework in out Strategic Child Welfare System Priorities (January 2023).

The purpose of the Network is to continuously advance the implementation of the five priority areas identified in the white paper:

• Establish measurable outcomes for child safety and well-being
• Invest in supportive services
• Address child welfare workforce issues
• Improve cross-system collaboration and public reporting
• Prioritize permanency and prevention

Our vision is a Maine child welfare system where: 

• Safety and well-being are universal rights that are guaranteed to all Maine children, youth, and families
• Our communities, public and private organizations share responsibility to support families by addressing the root causes of child maltreatment
• Relationships and trust are cultivated among all public and private stakeholders to advance new solutions to this long-standing public health issue
• Lasting improvement is created by taking risks and trying new solutions that have not been tried before
• Stakeholders share the will to sustain improvements over time

Our Values

• We share responsibility with all Maine citizens and systems to protect and promote the safety and well-being of children, youth, and families
• We work in partnership with government, support its role in solutions, and honor its responsibilities to Maine children, youth, and families
• We promote the understanding that poverty, racial and ethnic disparities, and geography are interconnected and related to other issues that impact a family’s safety and well-being.
• We involve those who are affected by the problems in designing the solutions
• We listen deeply to understand all stakeholder perspectives
• We are transparent about our own organizational and individual interests
• We demonstrate willingness to prioritize our common goals

Collective Action

The Network connects a broad range of people across Maine who are invested in child and family well-being and dedicated to collective actions to achieve large scale change. Successful collective impact requires staff with a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative and provide coordination for activities. The Network Leadership Team voted unanimously in September 2021 to have the Maine Children’s Alliance (MCA) serve as backbone organization for the Network. In this role, MCA has agreed to provide support for the operations of the Network. This includes providing staff to coordinate Network activities as directed by the Leadership Team, and a public presence for the Network on the MCA website.

Membership

There are several ways for individuals and organizations to participate in the Network.

• Network Leaders developed the original white paper. These individuals and organizations have dedicated time and staff with decision-making authority to take responsibility for leading the continuous development of the Network and advancing the five priority reform areas.
• Network Partners demonstrate support for Network priorities and actions by signing on to public statements and collective letters to decision makers. Network Partners agree to uphold the vision and values of the Network and may also participate in Action Teams to work on specific priorities and strategies.
• Action Teams are groups of Network Partners that work together to advance specific priorities of the Network. Action Teams may be formed by the Leadership Team to mobilize interested parties to act on policy and practice opportunities. Participation in Action Teams is open to any Network Partner who is interested, and participants agree to uphold the vision and values of the Network.

Initiatives

The Maine Child Welfare Action Network (MCWAN) has engaged parent experts to establish a new initiative for the network, the Center for Parent Leadership and Advocacy in Child Welfare (CPLA). The goal of the CPLA is to develop a group of parent advocates within MCWAN who have lived experience with child protection and other family serving systems, and the skills to use their experiences to inform policy and affect practice change. Learn more about CPLA. 

Join Us

We are deeply committed to the safety and well-being of all children, youth, and families in Maine. Working together, in partnership with our state leaders, we can build a system that supports child well-being, strengthens families, and reduces the strain on child protective services. 

To learn more about this initiative and ways to get involved, contact Network Coordinator Melissa Hackett, at mhackett@mekids.org 

Resources

• The U.S. Children’s Bureau, Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Prevent Child Abuse America®, Thriving Families, Safer Children: A National Commitment to Well-Being
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Essentials for Childhood
• Institute for Family, the Unlearning of Child Welfare
• Tennyson Center for Children, Rewiring
• Maine Child Welfare Action Network, Evidence Based Practice in Child Welfare