Napa County, CA – County residents have undergone double crises, Ahearn explained, citing the pandemic and the wildfires that have ravaged Upvalley, causing some communities to be evacuated as many as three or four times over the span of several months. And the pandemic continues to change daily routines for families, she explained. With school-aged children home during distance learning, often side by side with working parents, stress levels for both children and adults even outside of evacuation zones have risen considerably.
That’s led to an increase in what Ahearn calls “reactive parenting,” as well as an increase in substance use and abuse among parents — a phenomenon well documented through the pandemic’s course so far. Napa County Health and Human Services has experienced an increase in demand for mental health services reflective of the circumstances, Director Sarah O’Malley confirmed.
At OLE Health, CEO Alicia Hardy told the Register last week that mental health visits are up 125% as compared to the period pre-pandemic. And while other increases — say, in the frequency and severity of domestic violence or child abuse reports countywide — aren’t so quantifiable, they are very real, according to Kerry Ahearn, CEO of Aldea, Inc., which provides mental health and child welfare support services in Napa County.
Studies conducted through the early months of the pandemic revealed domestic violence had tripled amid lockdowns in countries like China, France, Argentina and Singapore. Because domestic violence “usually occurs in a domestic space (where) one individual holds power over another,” extended hours at home could make the at-risk even more vulnerable, the study concluded.
Advocates voiced concern specifically for children amid lockdowns. With school being conducted virtually, teachers and other adults required to report cases of suspected abuse or neglect would no longer have the same access to their students.
Their suspicions came to fruition in March and April when reports of child abuse “went scarily quiet for a little while, said Tracy Lamb, executive director of NEWS, which offers domestic violence and sexual abuse services.
“My assumption is that (vulnerable) kids have been home alone with no one to ask questions or be concerned,” she added. “There’s no one they could tell.”
The quantity of reports in general — not just pertaining to children — has followed a similar pattern: a sharp drop in early lockdown, and then a “pretty rapid” rise in subsequent months.
Last week, according to Lamb, the Napa Police Department responded to 13 new cases of domestic violence — including two strangulation cases and an attempted murder — and two cases of sexual assault so significant NEWS broke its virtual-visit policy to provide victims much-needed in-person support.
Thirteen domestic violence calls in one week represents an “above average” frequency, according to Lamb, who said NEWS has also noted the severity of cases seems to be simultaneously escalating.
Perhaps equally concerning, according to COPE Family Center Executive Director Michele Grupe, are the cases in which it is more difficult to substantiate mistreatment. Extreme abuse cases — whether involving children or adults — often result in police involvement or trips to the emergency room, where medical or law enforcement professionals can intervene. In cases of neglect, though, the mistreatment is not as obvious.
“When you think about child abuse and neglect in our community, most people think of abuse, but (more than) 90% of our reports are about neglect,” Cope said. “Kids are left unattended or there’s not enough food — that kind of thing. And usually the reason for that is you’ve got parents working one or more jobs.”
Just as it has with outright abuse, the pandemic could exacerbate child neglect, Grupe said. Essential worker parents must leave their homes to earn a living, and distance learning coupled with the scarcity of childcare slots in Napa County means fewer resources for working parents all around.
“As the economy struggles along — and a lot of our marginalized families who were already struggling struggle more — (I’m concerned about) what that means for the health and safety of kids,” she said. Parents desperate for childcare might leave young children alone, or in the care of a neighbor with whom they are not overly familiar.
COPE is working to connect parents with resources to create healthier, safer homes for their children, Grupe said. They’ve continued to make referrals to groups like Community Resources for Children, which helps parents secure adequate childcare.
One of COPE’s goals this year is to launch an improved community education campaign, Grupe said, to grant folks who are not mandated reporters an understanding of how to safely and responsibly intervene in a case of suspected neglect or abuse.
“What do you do if you’re home and you start hearing things over the fence — things happening at your neighbors’?” Grupe said. “There are less traditional eyes on children, but there are new opportunities to expand education around this and get eyes on kids to keep them safe.”