Sonoma County Sees Nearly 20 Percent Spike In Child Abuse And Neglect Cases
Drug and alcohol abuse were a factor in 42 percent of the 2,220 cases investigated last year by the county’s Child Protective Services.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Cases Of Child Abuse And Neglect Up 17 Percent In Sonoma County
The number of child abuse or neglect cases in Sonoma County rose 17 percent last year, with drug abuse and mental health issues playing an increasing role in destabilizing at-risk families, according to county data. The 569 confirmed cases of abuse or neglect last year — up from 487 in 2015 — nearly matched the county’s five-year high. The number of children removed from their homes and placed into foster care rose from 208 in 2015 to 263 last year. (Espinoza, 6/9)
In other news from across the state —
Modesto Bee:
Modesto Doctor Who Treated Premature Infants Surrenders License Over Alcoholism Charge
Dr. Frederick Mattson Murphy, a former stalwart for Doctors Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit in Modesto, surrendered his medical license in August following a California Medical Board accusation that he suffered from alcoholism, the Modesto Bee has learned... A Medical Board order said Murphy chose to surrender his license rather than going through the expense of contesting the allegations and agreed the factual basis for the charges could be established at a hearing. (Carlson, 6/10)
KPCC:
Helping Girls In Juvenile Detention Get Medical, Psychiatric Help
L.A. County is expanding its use of a screening tool designed to identify the most pressing medical and mental health needs of girls in the juvenile justice system... The pilot phase of the program revealed that of the 331 girls screened, 10 percent had experienced sexual assault, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. (Faust, 6/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Students Use Art As Activism At California State Capitol
Members of Brown Issues, Fathers and Family of San Joaquin County, and We’Ced Youth Media painted puzzle pieces of what “We Are All Californians” meant to them and then assembled them Tuesday at the Capitol into the shape of the bear on the California flag. All members are active participants in the California Endowment’s #Health4All campaign that aims to raise awareness that undocumented immigrants lack affordable health care in California. (Marks, 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
County Officials Conducting Health Survey Among Neighbors Of Former Battery-Recycling Plant
Hundreds of Los Angeles County health officials and volunteers went door to door Saturday conducting health surveys of residents who live around a shuttered battery-recycling plant near downtown, which is blamed for decades of lead emissions spread across seven southeast communities. The group’s efforts are focused on residents who live within a 1.7 mile radius of the former Exide Technologies battery plant in Vernon, organizers said. The targeted neighborhoods are in Bell, Boyle Heights, Commerce, Maywood, East Los Angeles, Huntington Park and Vernon. (Khan and Lozano, 6/10)