{"id":425702,"date":"2024-11-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=425702"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"3-newborns-test-positive-for-meth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/3-newborns-test-positive-for-meth\/","title":{"rendered":"3 newborns test positive for meth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Child Protective Services, under the Division of Youth Services, reports a troubling start to the new fiscal year, with data from October 2024 revealing three newborns testing positive for methamphetamine at birth.<\/p>\n

These figures are just for October and do not include ongoing cases, where CPS is actively working with families who need additional support.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of these cases represents a newborn who deserves a healthier start to life. This isn\u2019t just about numbers; it\u2019s about our duty to step up as a community to protect and nurture these children,\u201d said Mariah Barcinas, CPS supervisor. \u201cWe need to come together to support families and prevent substance exposure from affecting our children\u2019s lives from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

DYS administrator Vivian T. Sablan emphasized the importance of community-wide awareness and resources: \u201cOur focus at DYS is not just on responding to these cases, but on building a network of support to prevent them. We want parents and families to know that help is available and that seeking support early can make a difference. These children deserve a healthy start, and it\u2019s up to all of us to make that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside newborn exposure cases, October 2024 data also revealed 63 new reports, involving 162 children and a total of 224 separate allegations, including emotional abuse and neglect, physical abuse and various support services. CPS has prioritized these cases by providing services and interventions that address both immediate safety and long-term family stability.<\/p>\n

DYS calls on the community to join in raising awareness, sharing information about available resources and supporting families in need. By creating a supportive environment where families feel comfortable seeking help, DYS aims to reduce the risk of future cases and ensure that every child in the CNMI has the opportunity to thrive.<\/p>\n

For more information about Child Protective Services or to report a concern, contact CPS at (670) 237-1005-14 or visit our website at dys.gov.mp<\/a> or our Facebook Page: \u201cDCCA DYS.\u201d (PR)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Vivien T. Sablan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Child Protective Services, under the Division of Youth Services, reports a troubling start to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-425702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}