Child maltreatment reporting during the initial weeks of COVID-19 in the US: Findings from NCANDS.
Child Abuse Negl
; 134: 105929, 2022 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2068778
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
After the national COVID-19 emergency declaration in the U.S. in March 2020, child welfare agencies observed large reductions in maltreatment reporting.OBJECTIVE:
To quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child maltreatment reporting nationally to inform policy for future emergencies. PARTICIPANTS ANDSETTING:
Administrative data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for 48 states for federal fiscal years (FFYs) 2017 through 2020.METHODS:
Analyses focused on reports to child protective services (CPS) between weeks 12 and 24 of calendar years 2017 through 2020 (mid-March through mid-June). Report sources of screened in and substantiated reports were compared with those during the prior year. Likelihood of a report being substantiated in 2020 compared with 2019 based on report source was calculated using odds ratios.RESULTS:
In 2020, CPS screened in 39 % fewer reports than during the same period in 2019 and the proportion of reports substantiated increased from 18 to 22 %. Reports from all report sources decreased, especially from education personnel (90 % decrease) and child daycare providers (65 % decrease). The odds for substantiation were significantly higher during 2020 than in 2019 for reports from all but three sources.CONCLUSION:
During the initial weeks following the national COVID-19 emergency declaration, the number of reports to CPS declined sharply at the national level and across all states, primarily in association with a large reduction in referrals from education sentinels. Explanations for the increase in percent of substantiation in the context of reduction of reports are considered.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Child Abuse
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Child Abuse Negl
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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