Editorial: Protecting Children

Here is a troubling statistic to consider when discussing the opioid crisis. Of the 800 open child abuse and neglect cases in Mercer County, almost 600 of those investigations include a level of associated drug abuse. 

Besides that, more than 50 percent of the 700 monthly managed supervised visitations between parents and children in the county have drug endangerment issues. That amounts to more than 350 visitations each month in the county that have to be supervised, according to Mercer County Child Protect Executive Director Shiloh Woodard. 

That’s truly unfortunate. 

All too often it is easy to forget that children are adversely impacted by the opioid crisis and those related crimes that are connected to drugs. 

Protecting those children who are directly impacted by the opioid epidemic must be a priority. In one particularly helpful announcement, a $750,000 federal funding award was confirmed last week by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. to Child Protect of Mercer County. 

Mercer County’s grant is part of a larger $5,583,112 federal funding award for West Virginia through the U.S. Department of Justice that will support services for children adversely impacted by the opioid crisis and its related crime, as well as for those currently struggling with addiction. It will also support the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault crimes, and improve engagement with victims. 

Woodard says the local funds will be used to provide an increased amount of available trauma-focused therapy services in the region as well as establishing a supervised visitation center. The funding also will be used to assist with the prosecution of cases where children have been abused or neglected and where the cases include a level of associated drug abuse. 

It is imperative that all possible efforts be made to protect and provide guidance to local children and families affected by the opioid crisis. Last week’s federal funding award will help in protecting the youngest victims of this drug epidemic.