Arkansas Children’s Hospital saw an increase in the number and severity of child-abuse-related cases last year, a troubling pattern in a state that had high rates of child maltreatment before the onset of the covid-19 pandemic.
Mental Health & Trauma
One of the nation’s largest youth residential treatment programs is shutting down after California officials, prompted by a Chronicle and Imprint investigation into rampant abuse allegations, decided to stop sending vulnerable children there.
Arkansas is the only state in the country in which two separate state departments conduct non-criminal investigations of suspected child maltreatment.
This is what happens when the hot line receives a report of alleged child maltreatment, according to interviews with Arkansas State Police and Arkansas Department of Human Services officials, state documents and state webpage.
When a reporter delved into the “hidden foster care” system, she found more questions than answers.
"The stress of my own personal experiences led me to dig deeper into how immigrant women were faring through the pandemic."
A Wyoming treatment center where California had long sent troubled youth will shut down in March, following a Chronicle and Imprint investigation into violent abuse at its campus and others operated by Sequel Youth & Family Services.
"For years, I avoided stories I deemed too personal. Until the day I couldn’t."
The school district shares student data with the Sheriff’s Office, which uses it to identify potential future criminals.
In the future, pediatricians may turn to biomarkers to flag dangerous levels of stress in children.