ABSTRACT
Unprecedented financial and emotional stress, paired with measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 (e.g., school closures), place youth at risk for experiencing increased rates of abuse. We analyzed data from New York City's Administration for Children's Services to investigate the frequency of child maltreatment prevention service case openings during this time. Longitudinal counts of case openings were compiled for January through June of the years 2014-2020. An independent samples Kruskal-Wallis H-test suggested that pre-quarantine case openings were significantly larger than case openings during quarantine. To account for the possible influence of other historical events impacting data, a secondary Kruskal-Wallis H-test was conducted comparing only the 4 months of quarantine data available to the 4 months immediately preceding quarantine orders. The second independent samples Kruskal-Wallis H-test again suggested that pre-quarantine case openings were significantly larger than case openings during quarantine. A Poisson regression model further supported these findings, estimating that the odds of opening a new child maltreatment prevention case during quarantine declined by 49.17%. These findings highlight the severity of COVID-19 impacts on child maltreatment services and the gap between demand for services and service accessibility. We conclude with recommendations for local governments, community members, and practitioners.
ABSTRACT
As frontline education providers, teachers have encountered many challenges since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. To better understand teacher well-being during this crisis and inform practices to support them, this study employed an online survey with a mixed-methods approach to assess teacher well-being and the support they need to work effectively. A sample of 151 elementary school teachers in the United States was recruited in summer 2020 to complete an online survey through emails and social media outlets. Participants were asked to provide retrospective reports of their experiences teaching in spring 2020 after schools closed due to COVID-19. The majority of participants reported feeling emotionally exhausted and high levels of task stress and job ambiguity. Consistent with hypotheses, path analysis testing a model informed by the job demand-resources framework indicated that task stress and job ambiguity were robustly related to teacher well-being. Moreover, three job resources (i.e., teaching efficacy, school connectedness, and teaching autonomy) were related to job satisfaction. A moderation finding revealed that teachers who reported high teaching efficacy felt emotionally exhausted when they were unclear of their job duties. Thematic analysis of responses to an open-ended question found that teachers would feel supported if provided resources to develop competence in distance learning, workplace emotional support, and flexibility during COVID-19. The findings identified a critical need to allocate more attention and resources to support teacher psychological health by strengthening emotional support, autonomy, and teaching efficacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).