CNMI child abuse, neglect cases increasing

Child abuse and neglect cases are on the rise in the Northern Marianas.

“In 2023, we had a total of 459 cases. now, we are at 534 cases with about 1459 children,” said Mariah Barcinas, acting Supervisor with the Child Protective Services Intervention

Child abuse and neglect cases have steadily increased over the past few years. The CNMI Division of Youth services shared the sobering update in a recent press conference. 

Physical abuse, physical neglect, and sexual abuse are the most reported allegations.

“And our numbers going up may also mean another thing. It is not good that it's there because we know it's really happening in our community. But it might be because our awareness is really out there, our outreach, you know, folks are really comfortable in reporting now. And they know where to go. They know who to talk to and we're trying to break that stigma and also making sure that everybody's aware of the services that we provide,” said Vivian Sablan, DYS Administrator. 

DYS also noted an increase in reports of drug use in the home as the past fiscal year saw  40 cases involving drugs impacting 119 children, including six newborns testing positive for meth.

“Whenever there's drug use in the home, a lot of other factors are affected. we're looking for safety, which is utmost, for making sure… that's our job is to make sure that there's safety, that the children are safe. so, the degree of the impact, you know, different households vary,” said Sablan.