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00'09'18'28 IN THE ONE MONTH SYLUS WAS ALIVE -- MULTIPLE REPORTS WERE MADE TO BOTH CASEWO Legislature reviews OPEGA report on 1-month-old Sylus Melvin's death Updated: 7:09 PM EDT Sep 18, 2024 Infinite Scroll Enabled In a 60 page report, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability found that 1-month-old Sylus Melvin was born drug affected, and his father had a history of domestic violence against his mother. This is the final report requested by the Government Oversight Committee after four children who were known to the Department of Health and Human Services were killed within weeks of each other in 2021."The report leaves me wondering about a few things," Bill Diamond, former state Senator and founder of the nonprofit Walk a Mile in their Shoes said.He's attended all four of the hearings regarding the deaths of Hailey Goding, Maddox Williams, Jayden Harding and Sylus Melvin. He said there are quite a few similarities. "The Ombudsman has said that for four years in a row the department does not have, they struggle making good safety plans for kids so i think that's a consistent common dominator," Diamond said.In the Sylus Melvin case, the department became involved before he was even born.In June 2018, Sylus' older sibling was born substance exposed which caused the department to open an investigation. Later that month, domestic violence between Sylus' father, Reingald Melvin, and his mother, Denise Newbert was reported.That child was ultimately placed with other family.Between February 2020 and July 2021 the family went a year and a half without DHHS involvement. Then Sylus was born substance exposed. "Almost all of these cases, i brought it up again today, the child was born addicted," Sen. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, said.In the one month Sylus was alive, multiple reporters were made to both caseworkers and police. But the OPEGA report shows inaccuracies.Timberlake said he's frustrated that the department didn't take more accountability."I said how can you write this report and not find any fault with the department because you have a child that's less than a month old dead," he said.We asked Office of Family Services Director Bobbi Johnson for an interview following the hearing but she declined our request.A spokesperson for DHHS, Lindsay Hammes issued the following statement:“The Department's highest mission is advancing the health, safety, and welfare of children in Maine, and we believe that any fatality involving a child is a tragedy. The Department's Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) has dedicated significant resources to strengthening child welfare and to working with the Legislature to look holistically at the child welfare system and identify areas for improvement. The Department continues to collaborate with State and community partners to bolster supportive services for families that are targeted at preventing the need for child protective involvement in the first place. Such initiatives include the Child Safety and Family Well-Being Plan and the Be There for ME website and resources.” The next Government Oversight Committee hearing will allow members of the public to comment on this report. That will be next month. AUGUSTA, Maine — The early deals ahead of Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days you need to know about Next Story The early deals ahead of Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days you need to know about Updated: 10:08 AM EDT Sep 18, 2024 Video Player is loading. / This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color Opacity Text Background Color Opacity Caption Area Background Color Opacity Font Size Text Edge Style Font Family End of dialog window. ✕ The early deals ahead of Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days you need to know about Updated: 10:08 AM EDT Sep 18, 2024 Amazon is holding another Prime Day in 2024, and it's going to be happening in October. Exclusive to Prime members, Prime Big Deal Days is going to be an opportunity for members to cash in on early holiday deals to get a jump on the holiday season. The good news is that Prime members don't have to wait until the event arrives to take advantage of markdowns on Amazon. Right now, Prime members can see select deals across popular categories, with some products getting to your doorstep as soon as the next day (for free). We're going to walk you through step-by-step what you need to know and where you can find those exclusive early deals ahead of Prime Big Deal Days. This page will have all the early Prime Big Deal DaysAmazon Prime Big Deal Days will take place from Oct. 8-9. But you won't have to wait to score Prime exclusive deals. You can always visit Amazon's daily deals page, sometimes seen by desktop users as “Today's Deals.” But it'll be these two links we've highlighted for you below that will take you to all the early Prime Big Deal Days you need to know about.Prime Exclusive dealsPrime Early Access dealsYou might be wondering if you need a Prime membership to score those “Prime” deals. The answer is yes. Not only will you need to score those limited time deals, but a Prime membership is what you will need in order to participate in Prime Big Deal Days. LEARN MORE ABOUT AMAZON PRIME HEREWe highlighted some of the early deals you can find below: Want to support small businesses? This is where to goEarly deals are live at a number of small businesses operating on Amazon. Amazon officials highlighted the following:Up to 20% off select products from Tally Tumbler.Up to 30% off select products from Made by Johnny and Bodhi DogUp to 48% off select products from KeraniqueHere are some more deals we found when looking through Amazon's small business deals page.Amazon devices will see deep discountsJust like in previous Prime Day events, you can expect to see deep discounts on Amazon devices like Ring cameras, Echo devices and Fire TVs. Amazon officials said Prime members will be able to save up to 55% on select Amazon devices, which include the following:Blink Outdoor 4 camera systemeero mesh WiFi systemsFire TV 2-SeriesLuna gaming controllersWhile looking through Amazon's digital shelves, we did see that the 40-inch model of the Fire TV 2-Series was already being marked down at 28% off its original price. We highlighted more Amazon device deals we found below, but you can also click here to check what Amazon devices are seeing deals at any time. This page will have all the early Prime Big Deal Days Want to support small businesses? This is where to go Up to 20% off select products from Tally Tumbler . Up to 30% off select products from Made by Johnny and Bodhi Dog Up to 48% off select products from Keranique Amazon devices will see deep discounts Blink Outdoor 4 camera system eero mesh WiFi systems Fire TV 2-Series Luna gaming controllers">
By: Jackie Mundry
In a 60 page report, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability found that 1-month-old Sylus Melvin was born drug affected, and his father had a history of domestic violence against his mother.
Jackie Mundry is a multimedia journalist for NEWS CENTER Maine, focusing on local news in the state of Maine, specifically in the Portland area. With a passion for storytelling, Jackie covers a wide range of topics including community events, politics, education, and human interest stories. She is dedicated to keeping her audience informed and engaged with the latest news and developments in their local community.
