Thursday, August 13th, 2026: All ICE agents in Maine now have bodycams; new program aims to assist adults with autism

Lawmakers say the goal is to better understand the challenges that led to the decision and to explore solutions to prevent other closures. 11 birthing units in Maine have closed since 2015. The hearing will be held Thursday, August 27th at 10 a.m. in Augusta at the Health Coverage Insurance and Financial Services Committee Room. It will also be live streamed. And students in short-term workforce training programs will soon be eligible for federal Pell grants. Maine opened an application Wednesday for eligible post-secondary institutions to submit their programs for state approval. Students could receive workforce Pell grants of up to nearly $7,500. When kids turn 18 and leave the home, many parents worry how they'll get along in the working world or in college. For parents of children with autism and developmental disabilities, the transition to adulthood can be terrifying as the school-based safety net of state services suddenly falls away. To provide more stability, the Mills administration is preparing for the launch of a new program, which it says will provide more services and enhance independence. But as Patty White reports, some families fear it won't achieve its much-needed goals. After David Cowing's son graduated from high school, life at home became more complicated. Cowing says he had to rush home from work many times to deal with emergencies. I would come home to broken windows or come home to a smoke-filled house where my son had decided to have popcorn and had put the... Popcorn in the microwave for an hour because, of course, that's how you pop popcorn. Cowing's son has an intellectual disability and physical challenges. When he was younger, the school system provided support. But after he graduated, he was referred to the state's adult system of services, which is complex and fragmented. The vernacular that is most often used is falling off a cliff. You really fall off a cliff of services. Cowing and his wife pieced together whatever care they could. But he says it took a couple of years to access the support his son needed in a group home. And services that aren't just nice to have if you're a person with a disability, it's really necessary in the same way that childcare is necessary in the same way that elder care for aging parents that can't sustain themselves anymore is required. Cowing Sun is now in his 50s, but the transition to adult services in Maine continues to be a major challenge for many families. The state now says it has a plan to improve the system. Betsy Hopkins, the director of the state's Office of Aging and Disability Services, says it's a program that would provide support to a person over the course of their life, ably named the lifespan waiver. Once a person is on the waiver, they don't have to. switch to a new waiver. If something changes in their life, they stay on one waiver. A waiver in this case means that standard Medicaid funding rules can be waived to pay for community or home-based services. And the lifespan waiver would start at age 14 to allow more time to prepare for the transition to adult services. This is really a sort of once-in-a-generational foundational foundational system reform that is really aimed at.

improving the lives of people with disabilities. Lauren Willie is legal director for disability rights Maine. She says the lifespan waiver will also offer dozens of new services and more flexibility. Really aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities. And I think that the way it's aimed at doing that is really recognizing the independence and the self-autonomy of people with disabilities and really trying to lift that up. But some providers say, while they support the goals of the lifespan waiver, they fear that the state lacks the needed workforce or funding to make it work. It's important to keep in mind the providers. are delivering services within exceedingly challenging times, within an existing home and community-based system that's already under resource. Laura Cordes, the executive director of the main association for community service providers, says services are already collapsing and closing. Others are concerned that lifespan could actually make things worse. Our goal is to make sure that it's a success and not a detriment. to the system. Right now, as designed, we think it will be a detriment. Valerie Landry is the executive director of the Maine Developmental Services Oversight and Advisory Board, which provides independent oversight of state services. She says she's worried that assessments of needed services will be conducted by Maximus, a national for-profit company that's come under scrutiny in other states for performance issues. And Landry says Lifespan is expected to launch next spring under a new governor and administration. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration is reducing Medicaid funding. So our position is let's pause now. Let's pause and get this right. Peter Buckland also doubts whether the state is prepared to make these changes. These things never go smoothly. He's among those who are worried that lifespan could actually weaken an already stressed system. His 18-year-old son has a rare genetic condition called Charge Syndrome and needs round-the-clock care. We do need to know that he is in a safe home with quality living conditions and professional support staff. And, you know, right now, we're just, there's too many questions that all that is going to exist for someone. as medically complex and as intellectually complex as my son is. But other parents say Maine needs to act now. I want lifespan launch. 70-year-old Maggie Hoffman of Hamden is the primary caregiver to her 38-year-old son who has an intellectual disability. She believes lifespan would help him get more support so he could continue to live at home after she can no longer care for him. Everyone, regardless of their physical, mental, medical, or psychiatric disability has a right to live at home. State officials say they've been developing lifespan for five years and are confident it will be a major improvement. They've applied to the federal government for approval and expect that lifespan will launch next May. For Maine Public Radio News, I'm Patty White. And that's today's main news. For more stories, visit mainpublic.org.

Coming up on Maine Calling at 11 tomorrow morning, One Woman's Oyster Story. I'm Ari Snyder. Thanks for listening.