MAINE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of Child and Family Services Child Protective Services Annual Report 2016 Child Protective Services Annual Report ••• The following report provides a summary of the number of referrals to Child Protective Services, the number of unassigned referrals, and a series of detailed reports on the characteristics of the referrals that were assigned to caseworkers for assessment. A referral is any written or verbal request for Child Protective Services intervention, in a family situation on behalf of a child, in order to assess or resolve problems being presented. All county level data represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. Title 22 MRSA, Chapter 1071, Subsection 4002 defines abuse or neglect as "a threat to a child's health or welfare by physical, mental, or emotional injury or impairment, sexual abuse or exploitation, deprivation of essential needs or lack of protection from these by a person responsible for the child.” ••• May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 1 REFERRALS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES During calendar year 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services received 18,630 referrals for Child Protective Services intervention in a family situation. Most referrals are received through Child Protective Intake, though a small amount of reports are received within one of the eight District Offices. When reports are received, a decision is made regarding whether or not the report contains allegations of abuse or neglect per Title 22. If the report does not contain allegations of abuse or neglect per Maine state law, the report is not assigned (“inappropriate”) for intervention. When reports contain allegations of abuse or neglect and are “appropriate” for intervention, the report may be assigned for a child protective assessment, or assigned to an Alternative Response Program (ARP). The following chart shows the number of reports received by county over the past three years. This includes inappropriate reports, reports assigned for alternative response, and those assigned for a child protective assessment. NUMBER OF REFERRALS BY COUNTY AND CALENDAR YEAR COUNTY Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York Unknown 2014 2158 1220 2650 471 658 2252 573 441 946 2529 275 392 959 627 480 2584 11 2015 2147 1198 2532 462 578 2079 544 418 950 2486 240 366 972 579 424 2514 38 2016 2024 1212 2495 458 617 2104 576 418 954 2479 256 399 988 670 458 2406 19 Out of State TOTAL 13 19239 88 18615 97 18630 *Excludes reports referred to Licensing, Out of Home Investigation Unit, Service Requests, and reports received where a case was already open and the information was not a new incident. *County represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 2 INAPPROPRIATE REFERRALS During calendar year 2016, 7,463 reports were deemed “inappropriate” (screened out) as they did not contain allegations of child abuse or neglect. Some examples of reports that would be deemed inappropriate include: • Parent/child conflict: Children and parents in conflict over family, school, friends, or behaviors, with no allegations of abuse or neglect. Includes adolescents who are runaways or who are exhibiting acting out behaviors that parents have been unable to control. • Non-specific allegations or allegations of marginal physical or emotional care, which may be poor parenting practice, but is not considered abuse or neglect under Maine Law. • Conflicts over custody and or visitation of children which may include allegations of marginal/poor care. • Families in crisis due to financial, physical, mental health, or interpersonal problems, but there are no allegations of abuse or neglect. The following is the breakdown of inappropriate reports received by county over the past three years. NUMBER OF INAPPROPRIATE REPORTS BY COUNTY COUNTY Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York Unknown Out of State TOTAL May 2017 2014 908 499 1184 194 252 889 241 181 371 1060 118 166 375 291 152 1092 11 13 7997 2015 858 524 1109 156 246 716 227 175 396 988 103 143 357 244 154 1014 38 87 7535 2016 772 508 1099 180 252 787 214 161 353 928 95 180 376 267 167 1008 19 97 7463 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 3 ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE The Department of Health and Human Services has contracts with private agencies to provide an alternative response to reports of child abuse and neglect when the allegations are considered to be of low to moderate severity. In 2016, there were 2,127 reports which were assigned to a Contract Agency for alternative response at the time of initial report. Referrals are also made to Alternative Response Programs at the conclusion of a child protective assessment or case with a family, when ongoing services and support are deemed necessary. The following chart shows the number of reports assigned for alternative response at the time of the Intake report. REPORTS ASSIGNED FOR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE BY COUNTY COUNTY Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York TOTAL 2014 262 176 160 60 76 228 56 59 132 221 33 57 43 100 60 185 1908 2015 329 151 183 86 60 338 60 50 151 246 25 66 66 91 28 247 2177 2016 299 145 195 78 76 217 69 70 197 237 34 70 79 92 29 240 2127 *County represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 4 REFERRALS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES There were 8,279 reports involving 11,546 children assigned to a caseworker for a child protective assessment during calendar year 2016. The following is the breakdown by county of reports assigned for a child protective assessment over the past 3 years. REPORTS ASSIGNED FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENT BY COUNTY COUNTY Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York TOTAL 2014 940 509 1251 215 313 1114 268 186 424 1160 118 165 535 219 241 1287 8945 2015 884 477 1199 216 256 1000 241 180 383 1164 107 148 529 223 205 1234 8446 2016 821 501 1144 195 270 1035 264 174 387 1134 118 142 494 273 222 1105 8279 * County represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. For families that were out of state residents, the county above is that where the incident occurred while they were in Maine. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 5 REFERRALS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES The following is the breakdown by county and age group of the alleged victims associated with the reports assigned for a child protective assessment over the past three years. NUMBER OF ALLEGED VICTIMS ASSOCIATED WITH REPORTS ASSIGNED FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENTS 2014 2015 COUNTY 0-4 Age Group 5-9 10-14 15-17 0-4 Age Group 5-9 10-14 Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec 679 369 802 132 219 758 552 287 679 124 147 570 329 161 461 98 109 346 90 70 184 32 29 134 660 347 756 156 176 637 517 235 667 126 135 555 Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc 201 117 296 823 79 106 141 104 271 579 58 95 86 71 164 378 41 55 22 25 44 122 14 24 169 124 282 829 79 80 Somerset Waldo Washington York 379 176 174 781 284 143 138 699 233 73 75 484 77 16 25 181 TOTAL 6091 4871 3164 1089 2016 15-17 0-4 Age Group 5-9 10-14 290 166 380 63 76 338 86 46 161 28 21 113 593 369 680 127 415 267 607 124 273 148 363 72 78 55 137 26 128 74 215 551 43 78 59 78 139 351 47 49 21 13 50 98 14 18 177 724 180 94 263 822 116 524 127 92 225 523 74 349 82 68 144 336 32 123 25 24 40 99 348 140 146 710 285 127 111 639 213 67 84 450 60 31 22 176 63 77 317 196 138 54 76 256 172 128 52 53 203 77 78 20 13 49 38 31 651 546 421 142 5639 4486 2850 958 5471 4252 2793 932 15-17 *County represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. *Children may be counted multiple times if more than one report was received in the year. There were 11,546 unique children in calendar year 2016. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 6 REFERRAL SOURCE OF ALL REPORTS RECEIVED The following is a breakdown of the report source, (i.e. “Referent”) for reports received in calendar year 2016. Mandated reporters are required by law to provide their name and information about their professional relationship with the family, though can ask that their name be kept confidential from the family. Non-mandated reporters can ask that their name be kept “anonymous” and not disclose their name/identity for the report. REFERRAL SOURCE – ALL REPORTS REFERRAL SOURCE 2014 2015 2016 Anonymous 9% 9% 8% Child Care Personnel 1% 1% 1% Law Enforcement Personnel 13% 14% 15% Medical Personnel 14% 15% 15% Mental Health Personnel 12% 13% 12% Neighbor/Friend 4% 4% 4% Other 1% 1% 1% Relative 6% 5% 5% School Personnel 20% 19% 20% Self/Family 11% 11% 11% Social Services Personnel 9% 8% 9% REFERRAL SOURCE OF REPORTS ASSIGNED FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENT REFERRAL SOURCE – REPORTS ASSIGNED FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENT REFERRAL SOURCE Anonymous 2014 9% 2015 8% 2016 8% Child Care Personnel 1% 1% 1% Law Enforcement Personnel 18% 19% 21% Medical Personnel 15% 16% 16% Mental Health Personnel 10% 11% 11% Neighbor/Friend 5% 4% 4% Other 1% 1% 1% Relative 6% 6% 6% School Personnel 18% 18% 17% Self/Family 8% 7% 7% Social Services Personnel 9% 9% 10% *Excludes reports referred to Licensing, Out of Home Investigations, Service Requests, and reports received where a case was already open and the information was not a new incident. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 7 HOUSEHOLD TYPE/LIVING ARRANGEMENT OF FAMILIES ASSIGNED FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENT When receiving reports of suspected abuse/neglect, Maine OCFS documents information regarding the living arrangement of each family/household. For example, a two parent, unmarried family may include a biological parent and his/her live-in partner who is also a caretaker to the child (ren). A one parent female/male family would be a household with a single parent caring for the children. A “relative” household type would be chosen when grandparents, aunt/uncle, etc. are the caregivers of children. A non-relative household type would be selected when children are being cared for by a person not related to them. The following chart shows the living arrangement at the time of the receipt of the Intake report for those reports that were assigned for a child protective assessment. LIVING ARRANGEMENT OF FAMILIES FOR REPORTS ASSIGNED FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENT Household Type/Living Arrangement Two Parent Married Two Parent Unmarried One Parent Female One Parent Male Adoptive Home Relative Non Relative Other May 2017 2014 19% 32% 36% 7% 2015 19% 35% 35% 7% 2016 19% 36% 34% 7% 1% 3% 0% 1% 1% 3% 0% 1% 1% 3% 0% 1% OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 8 FAMILY RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED DURING ASSESSMENT The following shows the percentage of assessments where one of the following risk factors were found during the assessment. Each assessment may have several risk factors. RISK FACTOR 2014 2015 2016 Prior History with CPS Mental Health Problems Involved with Court Spouse Abuse / Family Violence Drug Misuse by Parent Pregnancy / New Child ADD / ADHD Heavy Child Care Responsibility School Related Problems Parent / Child Conflict Alcohol Misuse by Parent Unstable Living Conditions Former Foster Child Physical Health Problems Severe Acting Out Behavior by Child Divorce Conflict Learning Disability Emotionally Disturbed Child Inadequate Housing Social Isolation Physical Disability Drug Misuse by Child Premature Birth Runaway Alcohol Misuse by Child Abuse to Animals Visual / Hearing Impairment Previous Child Death Failure to Thrive Child Fire Setting Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 75% 45% 23% 20% 19% 18% 11% 13% 12% 12% 10% 13% 9% 10% 10% 9% 8% 9% 5% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% <1% 1% <1% <1% <1% <1% 74% 44% 22% 21% 18% 18% 11% 13% 11% 11% 11% 11% 10% 9% 8% 8% 8% 7% 5% 3% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% <1% <1% <1% <1% <1% <1% 76% 43% 23% 21% 20% 18% 12% 11% 11% 11% 11% 10% 10% 9% 8% 7% 7% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1% 1% 1% <1% <1% <1% <1% <1% <1% <1% *Totals will exceed 100% due to each assessment having multiple risk factors identified during the assessment. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 9 COMPLETED ASSESSMENTS Below are outcomes for assessments completed in calendar year 2015 and 2016, showing the number of completed assessments by county which resulted in a finding of abuse or neglect (substantiated or indicated), or no findings of abuse/neglect (unsubstantiated). Substantiated findings are high severity, whereas indicated findings are of low/moderate severity. CHILD PROTECTIVE ASSESSMENT FINDINGS COUNTY Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York State 2015 2016 # Assigned # Substantiated/ Indicated #Unsubstantiated # Assigned # Substantiated/ Indicated #Unsubstantiated 878 476 1199 216 256 1000 241 180 383 1164 107 148 529 223 205 1234 8446 200 85 257 40 93 269 50 53 70 286 21 28 186 52 59 399 2148 678 391 942 176 164 730 190 126 313 878 87 119 343 171 146 834 6288 821 501 1144 195 269 1035 264 174 387 1134 118 142 494 272 222 1105 8277 221 114 261 51 77 349 67 50 88 320 26 36 167 61 73 307 2268 600 387 883 144 192 686 197 124 299 814 92 106 327 211 149 798 6009 *County represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 10 ASSESSMENT FINDINGS RATE The following shows the percentage of assessments completed where findings of abuse or neglect were substantiated or indicated by county. ASSESSMENT FINDINGS RATE COUNTY 2014 2015 2016 Androscoggin Aroostook Cumberland Franklin Hancock Kennebec Knox Lincoln Oxford Penobscot Piscataquis Sagadahoc Somerset Waldo Washington York TOTAL 25% 25% 25% 24% 40% 23% 21% 20% 24% 25% 32% 18% 33% 26% 29% 33% 27% 23% 18% 21% 19% 36% 27% 21% 30% 18% 25% 19% 19% 35% 23% 29% 32% 25% 27% 23% 23% 26% 27% 34% 25% 29% 23% 28% 22% 25% 34% 22% 33% 28% 27% *County represents the county where the primary caregiver was residing at the time of the Intake referral. May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 11 CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT VICTIMS BY ABUSE TYPE The following report shows the victims by age group and type(s) of abuse found during the child protective assessment for the past three years. Children may be counted multiple times if they were the victim of more than one abuse type in a given assessment, or the victim of abuse in separate assessments over the course of the calendar year. 2014 AGE 0-4 Sexual Abuse 69 Physical Abuse 436 Neglect 1237 Emotional Abuse 235 5-9 86 305 729 506 10-14 82 159 427 387 15-17 28 49 126 128 Total 265 949 2519 1256 2015 AGE 0-4 Sexual Abuse 64 Physical Abuse 491 Neglect 1044 Emotional Abuse 228 5-9 73 282 654 407 10-14 73 180 388 338 15-17 25 60 110 114 Total 235 1013 2196 1087 2016 AGE 0-4 Sexual Abuse Physical Abuse Neglect Emotional Abuse 67 466 1132 269 5-9 86 312 673 458 10-14 89 193 372 347 15-17 38 280 71 1042 97 2274 118 1192 Total May 2017 OFFICE OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES 12