Augusta – According to a report in the Boston Herald, state officials disclosed to the paper that a Maine family had received public assistance. Federal law prohibits such public disclosure about welfare recipients. According to the ACLU of Maine, the administration’s decision to leak the information to a news reporter raises grave concerns for the privacy of all Mainers.
The following can be attributed to Alison Beyea, executive director of the ACLU of Maine:
“The LePage administration reportedly exposed a family's private information in order to further its anti-welfare agenda. Who knows whom the next target will be – the elderly, people with disabilities? No one should have to worry about their personal lives being leaked to the press anytime the administration wants to score political points. But if it happened to one family, it could happen to any of us.”
