By Amy Harris
Maine, like many other U.S. states, faces a growing care crisis exacerbated by an extreme shortage of residential care capacity. Residential care facilities are licensed and regulated housing options for individuals who require around-the-clock assistance with daily activities, personal care, and other health-related services. This essential care is provided by trained and certified Direct Service Providers (DSPs). The Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services reports that the state has lost at least 26 residential care facilities since 2019.
Section 21 Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) is a Maine Medicaid program designed specifically for adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injuries, and behavioral health diagnoses. The program aims to promote community inclusion, foster greater independence, and keep individuals out of institutions. HCBS operates under the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which, alongside Maine’s Office of Aging and Disability Services (MOADS) and Adult Protective Services, oversees the state’s residential care facilities.
According to MOADS, more than 2,520 people are currently waiting for placement in Maine’s residential care facilities, with an average wait time exceeding eight years. Furthermore, the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) 2024 report, Closing the Gap: Maine’s Direct Care Shortage and Solutions to Fix It, estimated that an additional 1,600 workers are needed to meet the care requirements of Maine’s most vulnerable populations.
Almost one-quarter of Maine’s Section 21 agencies and facilities are immigrant-owned and operated. These residential care facilities estimate that their DSPs cover more than 3,300 shifts, caring for 400 individuals across five Maine counties, from York to Penobscot.
Despite acting as some of the state’s most essential care providers, Maine’s immigrant-owned residential care agencies have faced targeting, intimidation, and threats to their operations. A federal push to increase deportations, coupled with an increased ICE presence in Maine, has cultivated a climate of fear for these Section 21 businesses and their employees.
One Section 21 business owner reported that several DSPs were stopped on their way to work, resulting in three detentions. This severely impacted on daily operations, leaving employees afraid to commute or escort clients outside their residential facilities. Additionally, anti-immigrant community members have gathered outside known immigrant-owned facilities to harass, photograph, and record workers, baselessly labeling them as criminals or “illegal aliens.” (It is worth noting that state and federal Medicaid mandate all DSPs be legally authorized to work in the U.S.)
This harassment escalated after December 2025 following fraud allegations against Somali childcare providers in Minnesota. This sparked a nationwide wave of unfounded claims against immigrant-owned businesses, and Maine’s residential care providers were not exempt from the unwarranted scrutiny.
“To use someone’s background to discredit their work is not accountability; it is bias. It creates an unfair and incomplete picture. It does not show DSPs working tirelessly, missing holidays with their own families, helping people cook meals, attending medical appointments, teaching skills, celebrating birthdays, comforting people through difficult moments, and helping people stay connected to their communities,” said Felix Mutunzi, Managing Director of Safe Residential Care, LLC.
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In response to these alleged inaccurate and potentially illegal actions, 30 immigrant-owned businesses formed the Maine Immigrant Business Coalition (MIBC) in 2026. Their inaugural project aimed to provide the public with accurate information regarding the vital role immigrant-owned businesses play in Maine’s communities. Taking a collaborative approach, the MIBC partnered with the Maine Association for Community Service Providers (MACSP) to formally collect data demonstrating the positive impact of immigrants on the state’s group home services.
The coalition, comprising business owners from Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Rwanda, Somalia, and other African nations, released its report, Rooted in Care, Growing in Maine, on June 24, 2026. The report’s central conclusion asserts that immigrant-owned care providers are not the cause of Maine’s disability-services challenges; rather, they are “part of the infrastructure helping the state address the gaps in caregivers and providers.”
Landry Kwizera, co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of Golden Group Home Services, a psychiatric RN, president of the Maine chapter of the Rwandan Community Abroad, and a father of three, is proud of the MIBC’s early work. He believes that together, “[they] can strengthen both [Maine’s] workforce and the broader community.”
A Maine resident for 15 years, Kwizera is a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. He credits his own trauma as the catalyst for his dedication to vulnerable populations, focusing on safeguarding individual rights and safety through “person-centered care.” Ultimately, he argues that immigrants are uniquely qualified to deliver the high level of care these residents require.
Family members of one resident in an immigrant-owned Section 21 home agree, noting:
“Having an immigrant Direct Service Provider has brought a unique and valuable perspective to [my child’s] care. They bring a strong work ethic, deep empathy, and a cultural appreciation for caregiving and respect for others.”
Mutunzi, who also serves as Vice President of the MIBC, emphasizes that “The best DSPs are defined by the care they provide, not where they come from.” However, both he and Kwizera point out that culturally rooted values, such as collectivism, the significance of shared meals, and healing trauma through community, often make immigrants exceptional DSPs.
They have witnessed residents grow healthier physically and emotionally after transitioning from institutions to residential care. There, residents are nourished by home-cooked meals and forge stronger connections with peers and staff. Furthermore, DSPs integrate residents into the broader community by facilitating medical appointments, outdoor excursions, religious services, and shopping trips.
“Care is not only about meeting needs. It is about helping people live with dignity, connection, and a true sense of home. There can be barriers, such as language differences, cultural holidays, foods, or customs, but there is also beauty in that…Birthdays evolve from a pizza party with a store-bought cake to music, laughter, amazing food, and maybe even fufu. That may sound fun, but it is also meaningful. It says, “You are remembered. You matter. You belong here,” Felix Mutunzi explained.
Beyond joyous celebrations, the “daily work of care” in Section 21 residences is demanding and occasionally dangerous. Providers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To prevent harm to the residents, staff, or housemates, shifts are typically staffed with two to three direct care workers per resident. Kwizera notes that residents often manage complex medical and behavioral conditions, sometimes taking up to 10 different medications daily.
Unsurprisingly, DSP burnout rates are high. As one family member quoted in the report stated:
“There aren’t many agencies that take on [my daughter’s] level of care. Americans aren’t lining up to take these jobs, it’s hard work and not great pay.”
Despite the industry’s notoriously low pay, these immigrant-owned businesses are powerful economic drivers. According to the MIBC report, they employ tax-paying workers, providing “100’s of jobs and paying millions of dollars in taxes.” Business owners like Kwizera and Mutunzi, alongside the report’s authors, argue these economic contributions cannot be ignored.
However, increased regulatory scrutiny and oversight have made caregiving increasingly challenging from a business perspective. According to Rooted in Care, MIBC member agencies and their employees “operate under some of the most rigorous regulatory requirements in Maine’s health and human services system.” For example, DSPs must hold certifications or complete training across more than 20 distinct subject areas from organizations including DHHS, MOADS, OSHA, the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, and the Crisis Prevention Institute.
Additionally, all DSP candidates must meet English-language requirements, hold a valid driver’s license, and pass an official background check conducted by Maine DHHS and the State Bureau of Investigation. A current backlog has delayed background checks by more than three weeks. Earlier this spring, Kwizera reported having up to 50 pending background checks, a bottleneck that severely impacts his ability to maintain a fully staffed and successful operation.
Despite the hostile actions of a vocal minority, a complex regulatory landscape, and ongoing staffing hurdles, the MIBC concluded its 2026 report with an optimistic, forward-looking agenda. The coalition aims to address workforce burnout, strengthen relationships with MOADS and Disability Rights Maine, and celebrate the cultural contributions of the state’s immigrant caregivers.
“It is the DSPs who are at the heart of these organizations,” say Kwizera and Mutunzi. By acknowledging this unique and critical role, Maine’s communities can grow healthier and better connected, ensuring greater protection of individual rights and safety for both providers and residents.
