Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

                                                                   APPROVED                 CHAPTER
                                                                   JUNE 12, 2025                 272
                                                                  BY GOVERNOR              PUBLIC LAW
                                    STATE OF MAINE
                                            _____
                             IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                          TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
                                            _____
                                      S.P. 43 - L.D. 122
  An Act to Update Certain Laws Regarding Extended Care and Adoption
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 18-C MRSA §9-304, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2
and affected by PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14, is amended by amending subparagraph (6) to
read:
           (6) Information obtained pursuant to this paragraph is confidential. The results of
           background checks received by the department are for official use only and may
           not be disseminated outside the department except to a court considering a petition
           for adoption under subsection 1.
    Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §4010-C, as amended by PL 2021, c. 714, §1, is further amended
to read:
§4010-C. Transition grant program
    The Department of Health and Human Services shall establish a transition grant
program to provide financial support to eligible individuals to pay for postsecondary
education or training programs.
    1. Age; enrollment in postsecondary education institution or training program.
In order to be eligible to participate in the program, an individual must be at least 23 years
of age but less than 27 years of age, must have exited the voluntary extended care and
support agreement with the State under section 4037‑A at 23 years of age and must be
enrolled in a postsecondary education institution or training program.
     2. Level of financial support. The transition grant is for postsecondary education or
training program support up to the completion of an undergraduate degree or the training
program. The level of financial support must be equivalent to the current voluntary
extended foster care supports pursuant to section 4037‑A. The department shall set
duration limits, including a 6-year maximum for a 4-year degree, a 4-year maximum for a
2-year degree and other duration limits for other types of postsecondary education or
training programs.
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    3. Postsecondary education navigator services. The program must include
postsecondary education navigator services that provide transitional services and college
support. The department shall determine the specifics of those services.
     4. Advisory committee. The department shall establish an advisory committee to
provide oversight of the implementation of the transition grant program. The advisory
committee must include stakeholders in the postsecondary education field, the department's
postsecondary education navigator under subsection 6, professionals who work with
transitional foster youth, employers, representatives of the department and other interested
parties. The department shall adopt rules to determine the membership, terms of office and
voting procedures of the advisory committee and other specifics of the advisory
committee's governance structure. The advisory committee shall provide an annual report
to the department and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
over health and human services matters.
    5. Limit on number of individuals receiving transition grants. No more than 40
individuals at any one time may receive transition grants under this section.
    6. Postsecondary education navigator. The department shall develop the roles and
responsibilities for the postsecondary education navigator to provide transitional services
and college student support for individuals pursuant to this section. The postsecondary
education navigator shall provide data to the advisory committee.
     The department shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to
this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
    Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §4037-A, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 402, §5, is repealed
and the following enacted in its place:
    3. Mandated review. For each person who qualifies for extended care and support
under this section and who is 18, 19 or 20 years of age, the District Court shall hold a
judicial review hearing at least once every 12 months.
    Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §4037-A, sub-§3-A is enacted to read:
    3-A. Review on motion. The department, the court or the person who qualifies for
extended care and support under this section may move for judicial review.
    Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §4037-A, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
    6. Judicial review hearing. At a judicial review hearing conducted under subsection
3 or in response to a motion under subsection 3-A, the court shall hear evidence and shall
consider the original reason for the extended care and support of the person and the
agreement of extended care and support between the department and the person. The court
shall, after hearing or by agreement, make written findings, based on a preponderance of
the evidence, that determine:
    A. The safety of the person in the person's placement;
    B. The services needed to transition the person from extended care and support to
    independent living; and
    C. The compliance of the parties to the agreement of extended care and support.
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In a judicial review order, the court may order either the department or the person or both
to comply with the agreement of extended care and support but may not order the
department to pay for a specific placement.
    Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §4038, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1997, c. 715, Pt. B, §8, is
further amended to read:
    3. Notice of review. Notice of the reviews must be given to all parties to the initial
proceeding according to District Court Civil Rule 4. Notice may not be given to a parent
whose rights have been terminated under subchapter VI 6. The department shall provide
written notice of all reviews and hearings in advance of the proceeding to the foster parent,
preadoptive parent and relative providing care and to the child if the child is 14 years of
age or older. The notice must be dated and signed, must include a statement that the foster
parent, preadoptive parent and relative providing care and the child if the child is 14 years
of age or older are entitled to notice of and an opportunity to be heard in any review or
hearing held with respect to the child and must contain the following language:
        "The right to be heard includes only the right to testify and does not include the
        right to present other witnesses or evidence, to attend any other portion of the
        review or hearing or to have access to pleadings or records."
A copy of the notice must be filed with the court prior to the review or hearing.
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Statutes affected: 
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 272: 18-C.9, 22.4010, 22.4037, 22.4038