By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
When child abuse reports jumped in February, it was hoped the spike was just a blip. But then came May.
“February set the all time high for Job and Family Services investigations in a month,” said Dave Wigent, director of the Wood County agency. “But in May, we broke the record we set in February.”
Children’s Services has gone through brief spikes in the past, Wigent said. “This is going on a five-month trend.”
Last year, the agency investigated 718 child abuse and neglect cases. The average has been 60 to 70 cases a month. But this year, the numbers were hitting 80 to more than 90 a month.
In order to deal with the increase in child abuse cases, the office needs another investigator, Wigent told the Wood County Commissioners on Thursday morning. While the current staff can handle the increase for a month or two, the continued demands are too much for the present staff. The workload is being spread amongst the six current investigators and others on the Children’s Services staff.
“All these folks are busy to start with,” Wigent said.
Wigent presented graphs to the commissioners showing the average number of investigations handled per worker per month at other county Children’s Services agencies in Ohio. Of those listed, Wood County had the second highest workload, with each worker handling 13.6 investigations a month. Licking County was higher with 16 per worker, and Allen County was the lowest with nine per worker.
“It’s pretty easy to say these seven people are the tip of the spear for us,” Wigent said of the child abuse investigators. They have a dangerous and emotionally draining job, he added.
Wigent said Wood County Children’s Services “runs lean,” compared to some other counties, such as Marion County, which has about half the population of Wood County but about twice as many investigators.
The agency has enough in reserves, along with state and federal funding, to pay for the new position, he said.
Wigent also pointed out that not only are the case numbers up, but also the severity. In the last few years, the county has seen five child abuse deaths.
“During the recession, we were all kind of holding our breath,” waiting for stress levels to cause an increase in child abuse cases, Wigent said.
But the spike never came – until now. The reason for the increase now seems multi-faceted.
“Part of it is the opiate issue,” said Sandi Carsey, director of Children’s Services.
“The drug issues are phenomenal,” Wigent said.
But the other reason may be the agency’s push to make people aware of the need to report suspected abuse or neglect. Children’s Services is using billboards and speaking at schools and other locations about the need to not turn a blind eye toward shaken baby syndrome or other abuses.
“They are calling in more with more concerns,” said Brandy Laux, assessment supervisor at Children’s Services.
With each investigation, the Children’s Services staff works with the families to try to solve problems and link them with other services such as counseling. In many cases, families are struggling with multiple issues, so they require more time, Carsey explained.
“None of these cases are a ‘one and done,’” she said.
Wigent said the agency has a policy of double visits in cases where the state has a one-visit minimum.
“I hope I’ve convinced you this is a legitimate need,” he said to the commissioners, who supported his request for an additional investigator.
“I think you’re doing a good job of identifying the need,” Commissioner Craig LaHote said, also voicing his concern about staff burnout.
Wigent praised Carsey for managing the staff so there is far less turnover than other Children’s Services agencies. In some counties, three years in the job is considered long-term, he said.
“It takes a special person to do the work you do,” Commissioner Doris Herringshaw said to Carsey and Laux. “Not all of us could do that on a day to day basis.”
