10-148-7 Me. Code R. § 1
DHHS is committed to assuring that children in its care and custody have families that meet their needs for safety, permanency, and well-being. DHHS seeks a partnership with kinship/foster/adoptive parents and permanency guardians who can provide safe, stable, and nurturing home environments and who are supportive of children and their families. DHHS seeks kinship/foster/adoptive families and permanency guardians that reflect the diverse racial, ethnic, and minority status of the children in care.
A background check is an integral part of assessment of the family and shall include a screening for child abuse cases in the records of the Department, a screening of Bureau of Motor Vehicle records, and criminal history record information obtained from the Maine Criminal Justice Information system and federal authorities.
Title 18-A M.R.S.A. §9 - 304 (a-2), authorizes the Department to, at any time prior to the filing of the petition for adoption request each prospective adoptive parent to submit to having fingerprints taken for the purposes of obtaining national criminal history record information.
State and federal criminal history record information may be used by the Department for the purpose of screening prospective adoptive parents at the time they make formal application to adopt. The information is confidential and may not be disseminated outside the Department except to a licensed agency conducting the home study assessment or a court where the petition to adopt is filed.
10-148 C.M.R. ch. 7, § 1