When the System Fails: Inside Maine’s Child Protection Crisis with Former Maine Senator, Bill Diamond

How do you fix a government system that punishes truth-tellers, hides behind confidentiality laws, and fails the very people it’s supposed to protect?

In this episode, former Maine Secretary of State and longtime legislator Bill Diamond joins Jonathan Bush for a sobering look at what’s really happening inside Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) — the agency responsible for child protection.

Bill shares the heartbreaking case that changed the course of his life, the culture of fear that’s silencing frontline workers, and why so many foster parents are walking away from a system that’s supposed to support them.

This episode covers:

• How 148 children have died under DHHS involvement in just 5 years
• Why foster families are quitting—and what it’s costing Maine
• The massive failures of OCFS, Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services
• What Bill learned from attending child homicide trials across the state
• Common-sense reforms that every future Maine governor must act on
• Why Walk a Mile in Their Shoes is fighting to bring transparency to DHHS
• The broken technology system (Katahdin) wasting time and jeopardizing safety
• And why simply admitting there’s a problem could be the first step toward fixing it

It’s one of the most important and revealing conversations we’ve had on Maine For Keeps.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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