In your Oct. 31 editorial ‘Fixing child protection just part of the answer,’ you raise two major points.

First you ask why the need for so much protection from abuse and neglect in the first place, at home, by the very people whose duty is to protect and care. We know that poverty, too early parenthood, parental incompetence, weak family support, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and depression are the ingredients that call for child protection. These conditions are much less prevalent in other rich democracies. They spend much more on health, education, social services. Income disparities are much narrower. President Biden’s bill will provide billions for needed investments in children and families that in time will reduce abuse.

Your second point: The state child welfare system needs to be reformed. No doubt. Following the deaths of five children in June, the Office of Child and Family Services asked Casey Family Services to help improve their operations to stop child deaths. Casey’s subsequent report lacks urgency. It falls far short of what OCFS needs to do. It devotes pages to system theory research and its own consulting methodology. Large parts of it sound like standard boiler plate material. Yes, it makes several recommendations that should be adopted. But it contains no recommendations on what OCFS should do right now that could better protect all children living in dangerous homes. Hopefully, a forthcoming report on child abuse by OPEGA, a research arm of the Legislature, will provide more specific guidance to lawmakers for stopping child fatalities.

Michael Petit
Portland

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