Department of Justice sues Maine for treatment of children with behavioral health disabilities

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Maine for what it described as unnecessarily segregating children with behavioral health disabilities in hospitals, residential facilities and a state-operated juvenile detention facility. Investigators say the actions violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead ruling, which aimed to ensure that people with disabilities aren’t needlessly isolated. The Justice Department notified Maine of its findings of civil rights violations in a June 2022 letter, pointing to what it described as a lack of sufficient community-based services that would allow the children to stay in their homes. A spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services says Maine will “vigorously defend itself.”