Last week, our blog highlighted the need to identify hidden victims of maltreatment.
Subsequently this New York Times article documented that some states are not even responding to high risk cases already known to authorities. It featured a California county that ignored newborn twins they knew were in grave danger until their mother posted one of their deaths on Facebook.
Home visits are still the only reliable way to assess risk, but new federal and state guidelines only require in-person assessments when the limited information obtained from a phoned-in report conclusively indicates high risk.
Worker reticence to go out is understandable, but must be balanced with the fact that today many children are completely defenseless.
State leadership and a greater sense of urgency is needed to get PPE for workers, safely expand in-person visits, and keep the public informed.
What are your thoughts?
Webinar postponed: The presentation by St. David’s Child Development Centered previously scheduled for Wednesday, August 19th is being postponed to a date later this fall.