Drug Abuse Driving Up Child Neglect Reports In Wisconsin

Drug and substance abuse is taking a toll on some rural counties in northern Wisconsin with child protectivesServices units reporting a rise in neglect and abuse reports due to meth or heroin use.

Katherine Peterson, director of Burnett County Health and Human Services, said the number of referrals are “going through the roof.”

“Thirty-three percent of our child protection ongoing cases have meth involved in them,” said Peterson.

The number of reports to child protection officials has grown steadily in the county since 2011. Five years ago, they received 129 reports, but 462 referrals were made to the county in 2015.

Anita Haukaas, family services manager with Bayfield County Human Services, said child protection reports increased by more than 30 percent last year — from 92 to 136.

“That has spiked quite a bit in the last couple years and (drug use cases) are where we’re seeing the numbers increasing at this point,” Haukaas said.

While drug addiction is affecting more children and families, it’s also straining county budgets. Burnett County provided outpatient treatment for 20 people last year, which cost around $12,000. But, Peterson said it’s much more expensive for counties to offer residential inpatient treatment to help someone kick an addiction.

“We may be able to cover one or two, but we can’t cover the volume of people that need inpatient treatment based on our budget,” she said.

Peterson said it cost the county $3,500 to provide inpatient treatment for one person last year. In Bayfield County, Haukaas said the county has spent more on treatment in recent years. The county’s budget for alcohol and drug abuse services grew by 30 percent from 2013 to 2014 – from $114,540 to $147,778.

“Last year was a little bit better financially for the county because of people having insurance. The year before, we were over budget,” said Haukaas.

Haukaas said more people received coverage under the Affordable Care Act, shifting the cost of providing those services from the county.

Nearby Douglas and Ashland counties are also experiencing a high number of child neglect cases or emergency detentions related to drug abuse.