Child neglect, abuse calls down 50% during pandemic, but is that good?
[She] says social workers are essential so they are still making at home visits when necessary. But due to the dangers of COVID-19 many meetings are now virtual making their critical roles in society that much more difficult.
“I am very worried,” Secretary Ross Hunter said.
Hunter, who is in charge of Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Family Services says the state would normally get a little less than 1,000 calls per day. Now they are seeing a 50% drop in those calls reporting possible child abuse and neglect.
Hunter says there is no question there are children who are suffering undetected.
“That is correct – what we expect based on great recession and other kinds of interruption to school – is that when school restarts we will get a lot of new information,” Hunter said.
