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An Act To Set Case Load Standards for the Office of Child and Family Services
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §4004, sub-§4  is enacted to read:
 
4.  Staffing.     The department shall ensure that:
 
A.  A caseworker is not assigned a number of cases that exceeds a number established by the department by rule. The number established by the department must be a number recommended by a national organization with expertise in maximum case loads that ensures caseworkers can adequately focus on each case; and
 
B.  The number of department caseworkers assigned to any individual support staff may not exceed 8.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires that the Department of Health and Human Services ensure that a caseworker in the Office of Child and Family Services is not assigned a number of cases that exceeds a number established by the department by rule. The number established by the department must be a number recommended by a national organization with expertise in maximum case loads that ensures caseworkers can adequately focus on each case. The bill also provides that the number of caseworkers assigned to any individual support staff may not exceed 8.