An abusive parent. Severe mental health problems. Alcoholism.
There are a number of different ways children can find themselves removed from their parents’ care. But with the growth of Children in Need of Services cases, more commonly known as CHINS cases, there is one common factor that local officials see driving the increase.
“The reality right now is to a large extent we’ve got a lot of people using heroin and methamphetamine who are not capable of caring for their children when they are using drugs,” Monroe Circuit Court Judge Stephen Galvin said. “That is not the sole reason we become involved, but that certainly, I would say, accounts for the increase in the number of cases. And this is a huge increase.”
Galvin said the red folders with CHINS cases now no longer fit in one file cabinet drawer. Instead, they take up multiple shelves and spots on desks in the judge’s office. Galvin said the number of CHINS cases has practically doubled over the past three years, adding that he expects the number of cases to exceed 300 by the end of the year.
As of September, there were 280 CHINS cases in Monroe County covering 430 children, since some cases involve multiple children.
Kristin Bishay, executive director of Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, said there is no statistical data to illustrate the true cause behind the increase in cases, but she agrees there is a connection to drug abuse.