Child abuse reports plummet during pandemic. Here’s why that’s not good news
As schools and daycare centers have been forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic, reports of child abuse have plummeted in numerous states, officials reported.
But many of those being reported are so severe that they required hospitalizations, according to The Washington Post.
Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth saw severe cases of child abuse increase in March, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in mid-April. Fort Worth police opened four new child death cases in less than a month, including the homicide of a 3-year-old boy on Easter Sunday, according to the Star-Telegram.
Doctors in hospitals around the country have reported treating more serious injuries in a week than they are used to seeing in a month, Leigh Vinocur, a spokeswoman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, told the Post.
But overall, reports or child abuse are dropping.
Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families saw reports of alleged abuse and neglect drop 50% in mid-April compared to the beginning of March, according to NBC 10 Boston. Reports of suspected abuse in California also dropped by as much as 50%, with the drop beginning almost immediately after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide stay-at-home order, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The D.C. Child and Family Services Agency said that hotline reports of abuse and neglect fell 62% between mid-March and mid-April, and reports in Maryland fell just as far, according to the Post.
Educators are usually a major source of reporting abuse, with 21% of the 4.3 million cases reported in 2018 in the U.S. coming from that group, according to the 2018 Child Maltreatment report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Since schools have closed, referrals from school staff have fallen by 94% in Virginia, the Post reported.
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families saw a decrease in child abuse reports, according to KIRO 7. Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma, Washington said kids could be facing higher risks of child abuse or neglect as parents face more stress brought about by the pandemic, job loss and isolation, KIRO 7 reported.
The stress of unemployment and financial instability has the potential to strain relationships between children and their caretakers, especially after school and daycare closures have forced kids to stay at home, according to the Post.
As kids venture outside their homes less, there are fewer chances for abuse cases to be spotted by educators, daycare workers and doctors, state officials in Massachusetts told NBC 10.
“Either the teachers witness things they don’t like to see, or children will disclose things that happened … particularly sexual abuse is disclosed to teachers all the time,” Maria Mossaides, director of Massachusetts’ Child Advocate, told NBC 10. A state’s child advocate functions as a social worker who specializes in the placement of children in adoption and foster homes, according to Human Services EDU.
“Children are safest when they are visible in the community and, during these unprecedented circumstances, [the Department of Children and Families] is coordinating efforts with our partner child-serving organization to stay connected with children,” DCF spokeswoman Andrea Grossman said in a statement obtained by Boston.com.