By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

More than statistics

A look at those working to keep children and parents together

This week’s cover story reports that 720,000 children reside in our state with about 5,000 living outside of their homes because of abuse, violence or neglect. Depending on who you talk to, these numbers can be used to praise or condemn a system that has certainly changed in recent years. Unfortunately, one constant remains — drug abuse continues to be the main reason for children being taken away from their parents. The percentage of child welfare cases involving parental methamphetamine use remains steady at 49 percent.

No one knows this better than the Department of Human Services and its 5,000 employees who cover a large spectrum of programs including everything from food stamps to mental health institutions to the collection of child support. They deal with delicate and difficult scenarios every day, pointing out that the “stress of poverty, not poverty itself” is a major factor. Whether you agree or disagree, DHS works hard to keep families together, and if children are placed in foster care, the agency works to return them to their parents as quickly as possible.

We can all become quite judgmental when reviewing statistics and stories like these. But there are people behind the numbers, – real people – whose lives, and the lives of their children, are affected forever. Reporter Jared Curtis talks with some of these folks in this week’s cover story to learn the stories of how they have attempted to reunite their families.

Thanks for reading.

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