The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners proclaimed April 2024 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, recognizing child abuse and neglect as a public health and safety crisis — and the importance of connecting families with multidisciplinary services that intervene and will ultimately protect children from harm.
State law requires every county to use a multi-faceted approach to child abuse intervention. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office coordinates what’s known as the Multi-Disciplinary Child Abuse Team (MDT), which works to ensure each child abuse incident is addressed adequately.
That team includes representatives from CARES Northwest, law enforcement, public schools, hospitals, health departments, the Oregon Department of Human Services and Multnomah County’s Department of Community Justice.
“In the period of time I have worked at the multidisciplinary team, I have come to realize and appreciate that I’m standing on their shoulders as part of the work that we do, and we can’t do it without them,” said Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt.
Three members of Multnomah County’s multidisciplinary team presented to the Board. Chuck Mickley, senior deputy district attorney with 13 years as a Multnomah County prosecutor, has spent most of that time exclusively prosecuting child abuse cases.
“No one likes to think about the fact that in the state of Oregon just in January 2024, there were over 13,000 reports made to the child abuse hotline statewide. Of that, 4,000 of those reports ended up sufficiently concerning enough to warrant investigation by the [Oregon] Department of Human Services,” said Mickley.
According to the most recent Child Welfare Data Book, Oregon saw 87,529 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2022, including 13,243 reports in Multnomah County.
Mickley conveyed a special thanks to CARES Northwest for “not only providing a place where children can talk about the horrible things,” but also for their work to “provide after care, therapy and counseling to the children so the healing process can be more complete.”
He also thanked the state, which provides parents with resources to care for their children in a safe and loving environment.
“You providing this forum, and the opportunity for people to think about it, is as important as anything in preventing child abuse in the future,” Mickley told the Board.
Oregon Department of Human Services
Sherrelle Jackson, district manager for Oregon’s Department of Human Services, said the department, with help from 900 employees, is devoted to preventing and interrupting abuse, and also providing education and trainings on child abuse.
“Through the Multnomah County multidisciplinary partnership, we have been able to enhance practices in this county that promote the safety of children,” Jackson said.
Jackson said interdisciplinary staffing and cross-system collaboration allows the team to work jointly to improve all case practices. They also attend national conferences like the Child and Family maltreatment conference this year.
Jackson also said DHS has also been working to better understand the over-representation of families of color and families in poverty who enter their system and how that contributes to family stressors linked to hotline calls. Jackson referred to the Self-Sufficiency Program, which provides assistance for low-income individuals and families, as an anti-poverty service that can be leveraged as prevention support.
CARES Northwest
Jenny Gilmore-Robinson, executive director of CARES Northwest, shared an anonymous quote from a client.
“‘They made me and my daughter feel we are important enough to get help.’”
While Gilmore-Robinson said she is thankful her team made the parent and child feel valued and supported at CARE Northwest she noted, “it is also such a heartbreaking and powerful reminder that we have community members who do not always feel they are important enough to receive help.”
CARES Northwest has seen an increase in patients since COVID-19, noting:
- A 111% increase in child abuse evaluation appointments, medical exams and child forensic interviews.
- An 18% increase in families participating in support programs that provide resources and emotional support.
- A 14% increase in trauma-focused therapy sessions.
But Gilmore-Robinson says those increases are actually a positive sign. During the pandemic, there was a decrease in child abuse reporting and referrals to CARES Northwest.
Knowing the stressors COVID-19 contributed to families and children, “no one reasonably thought child maltreatment had vanished.”
In fact, it was more likely child maltreatment wasn’t being identified or reported and families weren’t being connected to the resources they needed.
“I’m actually reassured to see our numbers increasing back to pre-covid levels,” said Gilmore-Robinson.
CARES Northwest continues to increase access for patients and families, establishing 14 new culturally responsive staff positions, raising the number of languages for consent and history forms to five, with two more coming this year, launching a statewide initiative to interview children with disabilities, designing new protective orders that protect children’s records in court, and training teachers on keeping children safe.
“I want to thank you again for acknowledging this month for those who do the work and most importantly acknowledge those who experience abuse and may otherwise feel unseen,” she told the Board.
Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said it is important to know that with the increase in numbers of child abuse reports, there is a system of care and resources set up.
“It is most important for Multnomah County that we have this partnership, because we are the safety net providers.”
Commissioner Sharon Meieran recounted her experience as an emergency room doctor and her work as a court-appointed advocate and asked if there had been any efforts to create a parent support crisis line.
Gilmore-Robinson said she was not familiar with one and would look into it.
“Everybody is worthy of receiving the assistance that you all provide and that we can provide, said Commissioner Lori Stegmann. “The fact that you all do this year after year, my hat is off to you and I’m very grateful.”
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards was not present at the time of the presentation but shared her remarks at the end of the board meeting.
“I appreciate the much needed attention to the subject and also gratitude to the organizations and individuals doing critical work to connect families, children and community with the resources they need.”