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If you are concerned about a child being neglected or abused, call Maine’s 24-hour hotline at 800-452-1999 or 711 to speak with a child protective specialist. Calls may be made anonymously. For more information, visit maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cw/reporting_abuse.
According to court documents, 10-year-old Braxtyn Smith experienced unfathomable evil. This Bangor boy’s short and tortured life, allegedly ended far too soon by the adults who should have been protecting him, demands outrage from all of us.
We should be outraged at the vile treatment outlined in a 15-page affidavit, allegedly at the hands of Braxtyn’s father, mother, and grandmother. We should also be outraged at the continued systemic failures to protect children in Maine from harm.
We don’t yet know if or how Maine’s child welfare system interacted with Braxtyn Smith’s family. We do know that Maine’s child maltreatment rate has continued to rise, and Maine children continue to die at the hands of their supposed caregivers. This continues to demand change.
On Saturday, members of the Bangor community rightly and powerfully gathered for a vigil in remembrance of Braxtyn and in hope that other children will not experience abuse.
“Lord, we ask you tonight to comfort our hearts in some way that only you can do,” Mansion Church pastor Terry Dinkins said. “We pray, Lord, for this community tonight to start to heal from this horrific evil that has been done against this young, 10-year-old boy.”
Part of that healing means justice for Braxtyn, and those responsible for his death facing consequences for despicable actions. It also must include continued reassessment and reform in the systems that have failed him and other Maine children.
“My heart breaks for this,” vigil organizer Matt McKeen said. “We are here tonight honoring this young boy’s life.”
Honoring his life, as emphasized at the vigil, must also mean addressing the failures that led to his death. Court documents allege unspeakable failures from the adults in Braxtyn’s life. We don’t yet know if or how Maine’s child welfare system failed him specifically, because we don’t yet know if officials previously investigated or interacted with his family.
We do know that Braxtyn was homeschooled. And we know that with public school employees being mandatory reporters, it is possible that the signs of abuse Braxtyn showed on Feb. 18 when he died at the hospital might have been identified and reported sooner if Braxtyn had been in school.
Maine officials should at least consider, as other states have, ways to improve transparency when it comes to the wellbeing of homeschooled children. To be clear, there is much we still don’t know, and this conversation should not proceed to vilify homeschooling in any way, but instead to identify and close off any potential avenues — in all systems — that could make it easier for villains to abuse children.
“We will work hard to fix the broken system that let you down,” Johanna Sanford said at Saturday’s vigil, addressing Braxtyn directly. “You have made a big impact on our community, and we will never forget. We will continue to fight for you.”
This child welfare fight is one that lawmakers, the governor, Department of Health and Human Services officials, advocates and the entire state of Maine need to wage together.