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Child‑care providers press committee over late DHHS payments and ‘ghost’ emails; OPAGA flags shared mailboxes
Summary
At a public hearing on OPAGA’s report, childcare providers described months‑long payment delays, alleged retaliation and ‘ghost’ shared billing email accounts that can delete messages without legal‑hold protections; OPAGA and the committee plan follow‑up with DAFS/Maine IT and DHHS.
Child‑care providers and others testified at a statutory public hearing about OPAGA’s recent report on the timeliness of payments to child‑care providers who serve children in state custody. Providers described months‑long payment delays that disrupted operations and alleged administrative failures that impeded payment and oversight.
Betsy Grant, a longtime child‑care provider from Ellsworth, told the committee she documented “withholding of money,” “auto deletion of emails that violates public access laws,” and what she called “ghost billing email accounts” that were not monitored. Grant said the combination of missing emails and inconsistent managerial decisions made it difficult to establish a clear record when…
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