AUGUSTA, Maine - In ceremonies kicking off Child Abuse Awareness Month, Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said that DHHS plans to launch a new initiative next year aimed at reducing child abuse.
Mayhew said there were more than 2,300 cases of child abuse and neglect reported in Maine last year.
"The number of reports of abuse are significant and the number of confirmed cases of abuse and neglect is intolerable," Mayhew said.
Next year, Mayhew said, DHHS will launch a new initiative that will seek to prevent child abuse by setting up a new unit of specially trained staff that will review all reported cases of abuse and neglect and assess all of the cases, with a mandate to establish specific action plans to address each case on an individual basis.
