In the first major update to assisted living and residential care regulations in more than 15 years, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services has proposed significantly increasing staffing requirements, among other changes.

The proposed updates follow an investigation by The Maine Monitor and ProPublica into the state’s largest residential care facilities. It found dozens of violations of resident rights, including incidents of abuse and neglect, as well as more than 100 cases in which residents wandered away from their facilities and hundreds of medication and treatment violations.

As part of the news organizations’ investigation, one facility owner called the current staffing requirement “scary,” “unsafe” and “completely inadequate.” Experts, advocates and providers said requiring higher staffing levels, better training and more nursing care would help address these problems.