Maine’s highest court ruled Thursday that state records related to the deaths of four children in 2021 are confidential and may not be released to lawmakers who sought them as part of their work to understand and address deficiencies in child protective services.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s written decision upholds a Kennebec County Superior Court ruling that the Department of Health and Human Services does not have to comply with a request for the records from lawmakers on the Government Oversight Committee, which sued the department in 2022 in an effort to obtain them.

“The Maine Department of Health and Human Services welcomes the clarity provided by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s decision today and remains committed to working collaboratively with the Legislature to continue strengthening the child welfare system for Maine children and their families,” the department said in a written statement.

Lawmakers argued that the Superior Court erred in its interpretation of state statute and that the committee should be able to receive and review confidential records and information.

But the high court said that while professional staff in the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, or OPEGA, should have full access to the DHHS records, the law does not grant that same access to the elected members of the committee. OPEGA conducts investigations on behalf of the committee and submits findings to lawmakers, often without confidential details.

“Although the committee is authorized to conduct hearings — and to examine witnesses and to order the appearance of persons to testify or produce documents — the hearings are expressly ‘for the purpose of receiving reports from the office and questioning public officials about office findings and recommendations,'” the court wrote.

Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, co-chaired the Government Oversight Committee for the past two years and will do so again when the new Legislature convenes next month.

He said Thursday afternoon that he hadn’t yet had a chance to review the decision or speak to the committee’s lawyer or other committee members about it to decide what their next steps might be.

“What I can say is that not being able to review confidential records completely handcuffs our ability to do our work, especially in this case,” Hickman said.

Through their subpoena and subsequent lawsuit, the committee had sought records involving the cases of children who had been in the state’s child protection system and died from abuse or neglect.

The cases include three from June 2021: 6-week-old Jaden Harding, of Brewer, who was shaken to death by his father, Ronald Harding; 3-year-old Hailey Goding, who died from exposure to fentanyl at her Old Town home; and 3-year-old Maddox Williams, of Stockton Springs, whose mother was found guilty of depraved indifference murder in his death.

The fourth case, from August 2021, is that of 1-month-old Sylus Melvin, who died of blunt-force injuries in Milo and whose father, Reginald Melvin, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Hickman said lawmakers may consider legislative action in response to Thursday’s ruling. He has already resubmitted a bill stipulating that the Government Oversight Committee is allowed to access information and records that are otherwise privileged and confidential, he said.

The bill died in the last Legislature after failing to make it out of the State and Local Government Committee.

All six justices on Maine’s high court agreed with the decision issued Thursday, though Justice Rick Lawrence said the majority opinion went too far in concluding that the committee is never authorized to seek confidential information like child protective records.

“I do not believe that this ruling precludes the future issuance of a subpoena for the confidential child protection records or, if necessary, the filing of a motion to compel compliance with such a subpoena, so long as the committee is taking such action in order to review and determine whether it endorses the OPEGA reports and to determine what, if any, legislation to propose,” he wrote.

The decision comes amid ongoing concerns about child protective services in Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services.

A federal audit released last month found that Maine child protection officials failed to complete all requirements in 94% of abuse or neglect investigations between October 2021 and September 2022, though the state said the issues identified have been remedied or are in the process of being addressed.

About one-fifth of the staff in the Office of Child and Family Services signed a letter of no confidence in Director Bobbi Johnson last week accusing her of failing to acknowledge or address critical safety issues related to using hotels to temporarily house children in state custody. State officials, including Gov. Janet Mills, have defended Johnson, who took over as director of the agency in January.

The Mills administration has taken steps to improve conditions in the department, where problems include burnout and turnover among staff.

In February, the department announced it would be delivering recruitment and retention payments to child welfare staff to incentivize and help attract workers.

The supplemental budget approved by Mills and lawmakers last spring also included $6.8 million to support children in state custody, add positions such as legal aides and trainers to help caseworkers, and initiate a payroll reclassification of child welfare caseworkers and supervisors to ensure adequate compensation.