Child abuse increases in Maine
Some disheartening news recently has come out of Maine with reports that physical abuse of children has risen 58 percent in two years.
In its “Child Protective Services Annual Report, 2013,” Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services shows the number of physical abuse cases found during child protective assessments rising from 563 in 2011 to 807 the next year and 891 in 2013. The report shows that it is the youngest who bear the brunt of the abuse, with a 75 percent increase in reported cases over the two years (from 241 to 424).
In contrast, the numbers of physical abuse dropped from 2011 to 2012 in every New England state except Maine. For example, New Hampshire saw numbers of physical abuse of children drop from 83 to 67, a 19 percent reduction. Vermont’s numbers were nearly identical from year to year (290 to 288) but still showed a decrease. Maine saw a 41 percent increase in that year.
As a whole, the country saw a rise in reported cases of physical abuse from 2011 to 2012 of 5 percent, according to reports by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The only bright spot was that the Maine DHHS numbers are showing a decrease between 2012 and 2013 in the children who were victims of other types of abuse including sexual or emotional abuse or neglect. While those numbers rose from 2011 to 2012, they started to shrink again the following year.
“It is a little better hearing that the rate of abuse is down and that we have made progress in other areas,” says Jan Clarkin, executive director for the Maine Children’s Trust, a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect.
The biggest concern in all of this number crunching, besides the obvious fact that any amount of child abuse is not acceptable, is that no one seems to know why the numbers in Maine are rising so drastically, especially when those in the rest of New England are shrinking.
“We can’t really determine the answer to that with the data that we collect,” says Therese Cahill-Low, director of the Office of Child and Family Services at DHHS. “We can have best guesses but we can’t pinpoint a specific cause in terms of the increase in physical substantiations.”
Cahill-Low points out that Maine reports cases of child abuse differently than neighboring New Hampshire, where cases are only included when a child is placed in state custody. This practice could account for the base difference between the two states but it does not account for the change within Maine.
According to Cahill-Low, the way that cases are reported or the funding for the agency have not changed in recent years, which some have questioned as being a possible reason for the higher numbers.
“That is not what we are finding,” she said. “Maine has not changed the way we are doing it and that is the crux of the issue.”
Many have pointed to the rise in drug abuse in the state.
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence lists Maine as having the highest rate per capita for addiction. The Maine DHHS Web site states that abuse of heroin, OxyContin, and other prescription narcotics saw significant increases over the past few years. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the state had the highest rate of doctors prescribing long-acting or extended-release opioid pain relievers in 2012, drugs often seen as more prone to abuse than others.
“We had a bad influx of bath salts and unique drugs we did not have in 2011 and there has been a rise in the use of heroin,” says Cahill-Low. “We do not have an answer but all points indicate an increase in substance abuse.”
According to a 2003 study by the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, Children’s Bureau, children are three times more likely to become victims of abuse if their parents abuse alcohol and other drugs.
“There is less patience and that happens especially with drug users coming down from a high. They are more irritable,” says Cahill-Low.
In addition to drug prevention programs that have been put into place or ramped up over the past several years, the DHHS plans to increase education and prevention efforts including a 24-hour parent support line, parenting courses for new parents and for students before child-bearing age.
“What this really speaks to is that families need more support. Parenting is a difficult job with many challenges,” says Cahill-Low.
Governor Paul LePage acknowledges the severity of the situation and the need to address it with a multi-pronged plan of attack: “As someone who experienced the effects of domestic abuse as a child,” he says, “I understand the importance of making sure that Maine’s children are safe and have an opportunity to succeed.
“We all have the responsibility to get involved when a child is at risk.”