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Child maltreatment reporting during the initial weeks of COVID-19 in the US: Findings from NCANDS
Gila R Shusterman1, John D Fluke2, Juan J Nunez3
1WRMA, Inc., a Trimetrix Company, Rockville, MD, USA.
Insights
Child protective services (CPS) saw a 39% drop in reports during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the substantiation rate increased, especially for reports from education personnel.
Area of Science:
- Child welfare research
- Public health policy
- Sociology of family
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic and national emergency declaration in March 2020 led to significant changes in child welfare systems.
- Agencies observed a notable decrease in reported cases of child maltreatment following the declaration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the national impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child maltreatment reporting.
- To provide data to inform child welfare policies during future public health emergencies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized administrative data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) for 48 states.
- Analyzed child protective services (CPS) reports from mid-March to mid-June for federal fiscal years 2017-2020.
- Compared report sources and substantiation rates between 2020 and 2019 using odds ratios.
Main Results:
- CPS screened in 39% fewer reports in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
- The proportion of substantiated reports increased from 18% to 22% in 2020.
- Referrals from education personnel decreased by 90%, and from child daycare providers by 65%.
Conclusions:
- National CPS reports sharply declined during the early COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to reduced referrals from educational sources.
- The odds of a report being substantiated increased significantly in 2020 across most report sources.
- Further investigation is needed to understand the reasons behind the increased substantiation rate amidst decreased reporting.
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 And Setting:
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.
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