Reforms haven't cut state's child abuse rate

Feb. 07--Children in Massachusetts are being abused and neglected at the highest rate in the nation, according to newly released federal data that shows the growing number of victims hasn't budged in three years despite a series of reforms at the state level.

More than 32,000 Massachusetts children were victims of so-called maltreatment in federal fiscal year 2016, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

As a result, the Bay State has a nation-leading rate of 23.3 victims per 1,000 children, more than double the national average. It marked the third straight year Massachusetts had the highest rate of abuse and neglect, starting in 2014 -- the year before Gov. Charlie Baker took office -- when reports jumped by 50 percent in one year alone.

But they've stayed steady or even increased since, and at an unmatched pace. In the past five years, no other state has eclipsed a rate of 20 victims per 1,000 kids.

The data, released earlier this month, comes as Baker and the Department of Children and Families have touted a series of reforms since he took office, including pumping an additional $155 million into the budget and adding nearly 600 new staffers to shore up the beleaguered agency.

DCF Commissioner Linda Spears, who testified before lawmakers yesterday on Beacon Hill, defended the state's dubious ranking, saying it has "one of the lowest thresholds" for reporting in the country.

"We receive proportionally more reports than other states," she said while descending a flight of stairs from the hearing, where aides had tried to hustle her from the State House as reporters trailed behind.

"We've come a tremendously long way in the last few years," she said. "We have a lot to build on."

Aides to Spears later said they attributed the initial spike to "increased public awareness" following a string of high-profile deaths, including the death of Jeremiah Oliver -- a Fitchburg boy who went missing in 2013 while under DCF's watch and was later found dead.

"The public has continued to be vigilant in reporting suspected abuse and neglect to the department," a DCF spokeswoman said.

Other state data show improvements could be coming. The Office of the Child Advocate, a state-level watchdog, released data yesterday showing the number of allegations of abuse and neglect in so-called out-of-home settings -- including foster care -- dropped by about 21 percent last year, to 655.

The report, however, was a mixed bag: 40 children in state care of custody died last fiscal year, a jump from 35 in 2016. That included one child that was 3 years old or younger who died of physical abuse, and 18 others who died of a sudden or unexpected death, many of which included accidental suffocation in a bed.

"For me, the better measure is the substantiated reports of abuse and neglect, particularly for the children the commonwealth is responsible for," Maria Mossaides, director of the Office of the Child Advocate said. "You don't have controls over incidents happening, necessarily."

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