Lepage Blasts Union Representing Caseworkers For Speaking Out About Problems In Child Welfare System

Gov. Paul LePage slammed the state employees’ union Wednesday in his weekly radio address, accusing it of trying to take credit for reforms his administration is proposing in the child protection system after the deaths of two children. LePage’s attack on the Maine State Employees Association came just two days after he said he was listening and responding to the concerns raised by front-line caseworkers in the Department of Health and Human Services. Six caseworkers detailed chronic problems with unmanageable caseloads, inefficiency, mismanagement and constantly shifting expectations in a Maine Sunday Telegram article published July 29.