5/25/16
by News Department on 05/25/16Child Abuse Hotline...
Thousands of children across the commonwealth could have been left in dangerous situations, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Tuesday, because of severe deficiencies at ChildLine, the state hotline for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
ChildLine, which operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and is operated by the Department of Human Services (DHS), began in 1975.
In the last few years, sweeping changes to the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) have meant increased call volumes at ChildLine.
DePasquale said not providing the funding to enforce child abuse laws was a disturbing failure, after a report of 42,000 unanswered calls in 2015. DHS’s goal is for only 4 percent of calls to go unanswered.
The goal was met in 2014, not in 2015. However, DePasquale called even that percentage unacceptable, stating that, “DHS and ChildLine officials need to take corrective action immediately to save children’s lives.”
