Even kids in otherwise functional families could face peril as parents unaccustomed to providing round-the-clock care and stressed by the collapsing economy are pushed to the edge.
Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable U.S. children could face a heightened risk of abuse and neglect as coronavirus-related school closures keep them at home and away from the nation’s biggest group of hotline tipsters: educators.
Meanwhile, state agencies tasked with investigating complaints and keeping kids safe have scaled back services to slow the spread of the pandemic. In Florida, some child protection groups have turned to virtual home visits instead of in-person check-ins. Child protective service agencies across the U.S. received 4.3 million reports alleging abuse and neglect of 7.8 million children in 2018 alone, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Of children who are sexually abused, 90% know the perpetrator, said Chris Newlin, executive director of the National Children's Advocacy Center. Staying home could make those children more vulnerable. “He’s going to be on his own for who knows how long,” Weinrich said. “We don’t necessarily know what’s going on in those houses.”
"It's important for parents not to be exposing their kids to crisis, crisis, crisis, crisis," he said."What they hear is, 'Oh my God, am I gonna die?'" But for now that’s only an option in low-risk cases, said Nadereh Salim, CEO of Children’s Network of Southwest Florida, a nonprofit agency that contracts with the Florida Department of Children and Families to provide child welfare services in the Fort Myers area.
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