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

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:

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.

1. If a court of competent jurisdiction specifically finds that a person has abused or neglected a child, or that a child is in circumstances of jeopardy with regard to the person, or a court of another state or United States territory makes a similar finding, the Department may record and report the person as substantiated for abuse or neglect of a child.

2. If an agency of another state (including political subdivisions of other states) determines that a person abused or neglected a child, or makes a similar finding, the Department may record and report the person as substantiated or indicated, depending on the severity found by the other agency, for abuse or neglect of a child, if the person had the opportunity for an administrative hearing on the finding by the other state's agency.

3. If a person is convicted of a crime where the charges arose out of the same conduct or pattern of conduct as that upon which the Department based its finding, then the Department may record and report the person as substantiated for abuse or neglect of a child.

4. The Department must make a finding that a specific allegation of abuse or neglect was substantiated if the Department was a party to a case in which a court of competent jurisdiction found as a factual matter that the specific alleged conduct did occur. If the Department is a party to the case, and the court does not find that the child is in circumstances of jeopardy, the Department is not required to change its finding(s) that a person has abused or neglected a child.