Chelan County Sheriff Concerned CPS Calls that Should Happen, Aren’t

Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett says he is concerned about the impact the pandemic has had on children.

He says the economic damage from the closed businesses impacts families.

"CPS referrals; if people don't know what that is is referrals for our Child Protective Services or DSHS or adult-care persons as well, but those referrals are down 79% in a three-month period."

Burnett says that a lot of the information they would normally receive comes from teachers who are trained to look for signs and so he's not convinced it's good news.

"Those averages aren't going to change a lot. In fact, the victimization might even increase while these kids are at home for a greater length of time. They could be unsupervised and maybe that's what's happening with a young suspect. Or maybe they've been victimized by an adult or someone in their life and that person has more opportunity because they're unemployed and home as well."

He also expressed concern that they haven't been able to get as many drunk drivers, or drug offenses because of precautions against person-to-person contact.

Fraud calls are up more than 300%.

Sheriff Burnett is part of the work group that is currently creating a plan for moving the two-county area to a modified version of Phase 1, or to Phase 2.