Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 148 - OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES › Chapter 201 - PROCEDURES FOR THE CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT FINDINGS, APPEALS FROM FINDINGS, AND APPEALS FROM DENIAL OF ACCESS TO CERTAIN CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS › Section 148-201-II - RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROCEEDINGS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Pending
				matters
1. If a person is or becomes a
				party (including as an intervenor) to any of the proceedings listed in
				paragraph 5, the appeal process in these rules shall be dismissed without
				prejudice. The order or notice dismissing the appeal process shall contain a
				statement that the person has 60 days after the conclusion of the other
				proceeding to request that the appeal process be reinstated, that the person
				may contact the Department or the Child Welfare Ombudsman for further
				information, that a favorable result in the other proceeding does not
				necessarily mean that the finding will be reversed, and that if the person is
				in doubt about the effect of the other proceeding, then the person should
				request a reinstatement of the appeal process pursuant to these rules. The
				notice shall give phone numbers and email addresses for the person to contact
				the Department and the Child Welfare Ombudsman.
2. To preserve any right to an appeal after
				the conclusion of the other proceeding, the person must file a request for a
				paper review after receipt of the original notice, as provided in Section X,
				even if the person is a party to one of the proceedings listed in paragraph
				5.
3. At the conclusion of the
				proceeding that caused the dismissal, the person will be entitled to have the
				appeal process reinstated, unless the Department is entitled to record the
				person as substantiated or indicated pursuant to paragraph B of this
				part.
4. In order to reinstate the
				process, the person must file a request for an appeal as provided in Section X
				within 60 days of the conclusion of the other proceeding, unless a "good cause"
				exception has been granted by the Department.
5. The proceedings that result in dismissal
				of the appeal process in these rules are the following:
a. Proceedings pursuant to
Maine
				Revised Statutes
, Title 22, chapter 1071 (child protective);
b. Any other civil proceeding in which there
				is a factual issue of whether or not the substantiated or indicated person
				subjected the child(ren) to abuse or neglect or of whether the substantiated or
				indicated person committed the conduct or omissions that created the
				circumstances of abuse or neglect;
c. Any proceeding similar to a and b above in
				another state or territory of the United States; or
d. Any criminal or juvenile proceeding in
				which the person is charged with conduct substantially similar to the conduct
				upon which the Department based its finding.
6. For purposes of this section, another
				proceeding "concludes" on the date following the last date on which any
				post-judgment motions may be filed pursuant to the
Maine Rules of Civil
				Procedure
or
Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure
, as
				the case may be, if no direct appeal is taken from the judgment. If a direct
				appeal is taken from the judgment, and if the judgment is affirmed on appeal,
				then the proceeding "concludes" on the date that the Law Court issues its
				mandate (usually two weeks after the decision is published). If a direct appeal
				is taken from the judgment, and the appeal results in the case being remanded
				to the trial court, then the proceeding "concludes" when the remand is
				resolved, namely on the date following the date that any post-judgment motions
				may be filed.