Child abuse, neglect and abandonment reach across all economic, social, environmental, educational, racial and religious divides, says Sebastian Mayor Bob McPartlan, who has fought this threat in the trenches for years as an investigator for the Florida Department of Chiildren and Families.
In his daytime job, McPartlan works within the 19th Judicial Circuit, covering Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties, where cases total 6,000 per year, more than 1,300 of them in Indian River County, or more than 100 per month.
In 2008, McPartlan became Program Administrator, overseeing all investigations, and, in 2013, he was promoted to DCF Community Development Administrator.
As an investigator, he was part of a two-person team that literally knocked on doors, responding to a call indicating an incident of child abuse, neglect or abandonment. Depending on the urgency of the incident, the investigators respond immediately or within a reasonable window. Investigators are on call 24-7 and, McPartlan says any calls concerning children 14 and under are responded to immediately.
“You never know ‘till you knock on the door” what situation you’ll find, he said. It could be any of a variety of scenarios, from a dirty house to a case of sexual abuse.
In the last couple of years, McPartlan said, prescription pill abuse has become a big factor in child endangerment. Where, before, crack was the substance of choice, now people are addicted to prescription medications.
“They’re taking oxycodone when they should be taking Tylenol. Parents are nodding off,” which can spell danger for infants and toddlers, who can very quickly get into a dangerous situation while no one is watching the children.
Street drugs are still in the picture as well. Heroin is on its way back, McPartlan adds, and, in Okeechobee, meth is a problem. The growing legalization of marijuana, even in controlled circumstances, adds another layer of concern.
In Florida, drowning is the cause of most accidental deaths of small children,(there were 477 within the past five years), not only in swimming pools, but also in canals and retention ponds. Another common cause is co-sleeping, when a child suffocates while sleeping with its parents. “Be aware! Provide adequate supervision,” he urges. And, “Do NOT sleep with your child.”
Children can also be unintended victims of domestic violence between the adults in their household. “Kids hear everything,” McPartlan said, “and they’ll gravitate to one parent or the other,” unknowingly placing themselves in harm’s way. The worst domestic violence scenario, he continued, is when it involves someone who is “not blood-related,” in which case a child can be injured by someone who strikes carelessly or intentionally, with no concern for the child.
Substance abuse and mental health issues are frequent contributors to a child abuse or neglect event. McPartlan emphasizes that the issue is by no means “just black and white. Parents who are living in their car may love their kids and be doing the best they can, while in a million-dollar home on the beach kids can be endangered.”
McPartlan says people have different coping skills to deal with stressful situations, some of which can result in bad decisions, putting their children in harm’s way. “A family has four dogs that they feed and take care of, but they can’t feed their kids.” Or they might leave their child at home alone because they have to work the third shift.
It can be, he continued, that they just don’t know any better and aren’t aware of the services available to help them. “We try to look at the underlying stuff. I tell them ‘I never want to see you again!’ “We try to be proactive instead of reactive. We want to always give them referrals, and let them know about the 2-1-1 telephone helpline – a powerful tool providing crisis intervention, assessment, information and referrals.
The vast majority of calls reporting child abuse or neglect are unfounded, he says. Of those 1,300 cases of child abuse in Indian River County, “7 percent of them do not rise to the level of having to go to court, and instead, will be assigned a court-ordered case manager, who, in an in-home, non-judicial framework, will meet with the family at least once a month until the issue “goes away.”
Currently about 800 children are not being cared for by their parents or other family members and have no one to guide, protect or speak for them as they face a daunting journey through the already overburdened court, foster care and child welfare systems.
The Florida Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program is a partnership of community volunteers and professional staff that provide a voice for these children. The 19th circuit has 25 paid staff and about 330 volunteers serving the 800 children, an overwhelming workload; each GAL struggles with as many as a dozen cases.
Sebastian resident Barry Scanlon is a dedicated guardian ad litem volunteer, and vice-president of Voices for Children of Okeechobee and the Treasure Coast, a non-profit organization. On behalf of the organization Scanlan accepted a proclamation at the Sebastian City Council’s April meeting.
Scanlon and 19th Judicial Circuit Director for the Florida GAL Program Vern Melvin from St. Lucie County, a longtime child advocate, explained that if a child has no parent or appropriate caregiver (which in many instances is a grandparent or even a great-grandparent) The Dependency Court Judge, Robert Hawley, will appoint a guardian ad litem to the case.
“We assign a Child Advocacy Coordinator internally,” Melvin explained. Some 35 to 40 coordinators assign and supervise the volunteer GALs. In Indian River County 75 volunteers represent 170 kids.
When the initial investigation determines that the child is in imminent risk and no service could reduce the danger, the child will be removed from the home. This happens in only about 5 percent of the cases. The child will then go to relatives or friends. If that isn’t possible, the child will be placed in a foster home.
“We are here to represent the best interest of the child, and ONLY the child.” Scanlan said. “They are going through a lot of trauma,” Melvin added. “They’ve been taken away from the only home they’ve ever known. They may even be in another county.”
The GAL is part of a three-person team that includes the Child Advocate Coordinator and staff attorney, but the volunteer is the one constant. In addition to going to court with the children and meeting with them regularly, Scanlan says, “We are the eyes and ears of the team. We monitor their care and submit a monthly report to the court, the DCF and the parents. We provide an independent perspective and, through the court order, we have full access and are able do home visits, unannounced. I do a lot of observing and investigating.”
Because “grades typically drop when a kid hits the system,” the GALs conduct schools visits, frequently help with schoolwork and share various other activities and events with the children as well.
“One of my children’s grades went from Ds to Bs,” Scanlan said. “That calls for celebration. The mom didn’t care about school.”
He told of one tough-acting teenage boy who “began to cry when I told him I was proud of him. No one had ever said that to him before. It was very touching, and very rewarding. You don’t win them all, but you generally get a good result. And,” he noted, “you don’t need to be a social worker, or have a degree in psychology – just be a caring person with common sense.”
“We provide 30 hours of training and there is the support team,” says Melvin. “We need at least 20 more GALs in Indian River County – we want to represent 100 percent of the kids in the system. That’s our goal. More foster homes are also needed,” he added.
According to Melvin, children with a guardian ad litem leave foster care twice as fast as those without, and go back home (if the parents get their act together) or to a permanent home that is safe, secure and nurturing. “That is our goal. Then it will ripple up and the child can become a responsible member of the community and a responsible parent.”
For further information on the Guardian Ad Litem Program, contact Melvin at 772-785-5804.
For further information on Voices for Children of the Treasure Coast, contact Scanlan at 772-913-5694
To report an incident of child abuse, neglect or abandonment, call the Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-96ABUSE (962-2873).