THE MAINE MIRROR | NEWSROOM
August 13, 2026
Five professional licensing complaints involving personnel connected to the Maine Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) are scheduled for presentation before the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure this Friday, August 14, 2026.
The meeting is open to the public for observation, and members of the public can attend in person in Gardiner or remotely through Zoom.
The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.
For families, advocates, social workers, journalists, lawmakers, and members of the public interested in Maine’s child-welfare system and professional accountability, here’s what you need to know to observe the proceedings — and where you can read The Maine Mirror’s previous reporting concerning the complaints.
(Page 1 of the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure’s official August 14, 2026 meeting agenda. The document identifies the meeting location as the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation at 76 Northern Avenue in Gardiner, the Central Conference Room, and the 9:00 a.m. start time. It also provides the State’s Zoom access information and states that members of the public may observe the meeting either in person or virtually. Source: Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation / State Board of Social Worker Licensure.)
MEETING INFORMATION
Date: Friday, August 14, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Attend In Person
Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation
76 Northern Avenue
Gardiner, Maine 04345
Central Conference Room
The Board’s official agenda states that members of the public may observe the meeting at this location.
Anyone planning to attend in person should consider arriving early and checking the Board’s official meeting page beforehand for any last-minute changes.
WATCH LIVE VIA ZOOM
You do not have to travel to Gardiner to observe the meeting.
The State has provided remote access through Zoom:
Meeting ID: 823 1720 7103
Passcode: 06729943
Official Zoom Meeting:
Join the August 14 Board Meeting on Zoom
The Board states that members of the public may choose to observe remotely through Zoom.
We recommend joining shortly before 9:00 a.m.
Importantly, the agenda does not provide individual times for the complaint presentations. Anyone specifically interested in observing those proceedings should therefore not assume that the complaints will be heard at a particular time.
FIVE COMPLAINTS TO WATCH
Friday’s agenda contains a section specifically titled “Complaint Presentations.”
Ten complaint matters are listed. Among them are five consecutive complaint numbers:
2025-SOC-20907
2025-SOC-20908
2025-SOC-20909
2025-SOC-20910
2025-SOC-20911
They appear consecutively as complaint presentation items 6 through 10 on the Board’s official agenda.
(Page 2 of the Board’s official August 14, 2026 agenda showing Section III, “COMPLAINT PRESENTATIONS.” Ten complaint matters are scheduled for presentation. The five complaints followed by The Maine Mirror — 2025-SOC-20907, 2025-SOC-20908, 2025-SOC-20909, 2025-SOC-20910 and 2025-SOC-20911 — appear consecutively as items 6 through 10. The same page also lists application reviews and other Board business scheduled for the meeting. Source: Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation / State Board of Social Worker Licensure.)
These five complaints are particularly significant to The Maine Mirror because we have been reporting in detail on the allegations, records, correspondence, and accountability questions surrounding them.
Their appearance on the agenda should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing.
A professional complaint being presented to a licensing board does not, by itself, establish that the subject of the complaint violated professional standards. Allegations remain allegations unless and until the appropriate process results in findings.
Friday’s proceedings matter because the public now has an opportunity to observe part of that regulatory process firsthand.
READ THE MAINE MIRROR’S REPORTING
Readers who want to understand the history and allegations behind these matters can review The Maine Mirror’s previous reporting before Friday’s meeting.
Christina Codere
Formal Licensing Complaint Against OCFS Investigations Supervisor Christina Codere
Our reporting examines the formal licensing complaint concerning Christina Codere and the underlying allegations and documentation submitted in support of it.
Read The Maine Mirror’s Christina Codere investigation
Bobbi Johnson
Licensing Complaint Involving Maine OCFS Director Bobbi Johnson
This report examines allegations raised through the professional licensing process concerning OCFS leadership and Director Bobbi Johnson.
Read The Maine Mirror’s Bobbi Johnson investigation
Chelcie Stewart
Maine CPS Licensing Complaint Involving Chelcie Stewart
This installment examines the allegations and supporting record surrounding the professional complaint involving OCFS employee Chelcie Stewart.
Read The Maine Mirror’s Chelcie Stewart investigation
Stephanie Gaddar
Stephanie Gaddar Complaint: The Unsent Release Form
This report examines documentation and allegations surrounding Stephanie Gaddar, including questions involving a release form and communications central to the complaint.
Read The Maine Mirror’s Stephanie Gaddar investigation
Amy Cilley
Maine DHHS Complaints, Part 5: Amy Cilley and OCFS Accountability
The fifth installment examines the complaint involving Amy Cilley and places the allegations within the broader questions raised throughout this series concerning accountability inside Maine OCFS.
Read The Maine Mirror’s Amy Cilley investigation
RELATED OCFS ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTING
The Maine Mirror has also reported on Jean Haynes and the events of March 11, 2025.
That reporting provides additional context concerning broader accountability questions The Maine Mirror has been investigating within Maine OCFS. It should be distinguished from the five numbered complaint matters highlighted above.
Jean Haynes, Maine OCFS Accountability and March 11
Read The Maine Mirror’s Jean Haynes investigation
We encourage readers to examine the underlying reporting and documentation themselves rather than relying solely on summaries or social-media discussion.
IMPORTANT: OBSERVATION IS NOT THE SAME AS PARTICIPATION
Members of the public should understand an important limitation before attending.
The Board indicates that its meetings are open to the public for observation, but not generally for public participation.
Friday’s agenda does contain an “Opportunity for Public Comment.” However, the Board expressly states that public comment may address matters within its jurisdiction except for an open application or complaint.
That means members of the public should not attend expecting to testify about, argue, or directly address the Board concerning one of these pending complaints during public comment.
The purpose of attending these portions of the meeting is to observe the official process.
(Page 3 of the Board’s official August 14, 2026 agenda detailing the “OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT” and meeting-observation rules. The Board states that members of the public may comment on matters within its jurisdiction except for an open application or complaint. The agenda further explains that Board meetings are open to the public for observation but not general participation and advises attendees to contact the Board’s office 24 hours in advance to confirm the meeting will occur as scheduled. Source: Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation / State Board of Social Worker Licensure.)
Please remain respectful of the Board’s procedures and allow the proceedings to unfold according to its rules.
CHECK FOR LAST-MINUTE CHANGES
Meeting agendas, times, access information, and other details can change.
The Board recommends checking its official meeting-information page for updates, addenda, cancellations, or other changes before attending.
Official Maine Board of Social Worker Licensure Meeting Page:
Check the official Board meeting page
The August 14 agenda also advises anyone planning to attend to contact the Board’s office 24 hours in advance to confirm that the meeting will take place as scheduled.
Questions concerning the agenda may be directed to:
Cecile Sirois
Professional Licensing Supervisor
Cecile.Sirois@maine.gov
General Board inquiries may be directed to:
WHY PUBLIC OBSERVATION MATTERS
Professional licensing boards occupy an important position in public accountability.
They are responsible for evaluating complaints involving licensed professionals while also protecting the due-process rights of the people whose professional conduct is being reviewed.
Both responsibilities matter.
Transparency matters too.
The public does not need to prejudge the outcome of a complaint in order to pay attention to how government institutions handle it.
We can observe.
We can document.
We can understand how complaints are evaluated.
And we can follow what happens next.
When a government proceeding is legally open to the public, members of the public have every right to respectfully observe that process.
Friday, August 14, 2026 — 9:00 a.m.
Whether you attend in person in Gardiner or remotely through Zoom, Friday provides an opportunity to observe Maine’s professional licensing and accountability process firsthand.
Read the reporting. Review the underlying allegations and documentation. Then watch the process for yourself.
The Maine Mirror will be following these proceedings and reporting what happens next.
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