Between 2000 and 2015, depression among Americans aged 12-17 rose four times faster than among anyone else in the population, according to a study from Columbia University.
Between 2009 and 2015, attempted suicides, drug overdoses, cutting, and other types of self-injury have increased substantially in U.S. girls, with the sharpest increase among those aged 10 to 14. That rate nearly tripled from 2009 to 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
In Vermont, calls to the state's Child Protection Line continue to increase each year - by 29 percent since FY 2013. In FY 2016, the state's Family Services division of the Department for Children and Families received a record 21,142 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect and initiated 5,536 child safety interventions: 3,074 assessments and 2,462 investigations.
Opiate addiction continues to be a factor affecting children's safety in Vermont. One of the consequences is a substantial increase in the number of children in DCF custody, from 982 in FFY 2013 to 1,323 in FFY 2016.