Child maltreatment in the time of COVID-19: changes in the Florida foster care system surrounding the COVID-19 safer-at-home order
Open accessAbstract
Background Media outlets have suggested that rates of child maltreatment may increase during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The few empirical studies that have examined pandemic related changes in rates of child maltreatment have relied predominantly on reports of suspected maltreatment.Objective This study examines rates of documented, substantiated child maltreatment resulting in foster care placement, as well as demographic correlates of child maltreatment within the foster care system, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants and setting Data were available for all youth in the FL foster care system from January 1, 2001 through June 30, 2020 (i.e., > 304,000 youth; > 1.1 million total placements).Methods This study utilizes data from the Florida State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS).Results Results revealed a decrease in the number of youths placed in the FL foster care system during the COVID-19 pandemic with the greatest reduction in April, 2020 during the Safer-at-Home Order (24 % fewer youth in 2020 than 2019). In contrast, the percentage of placements into foster care due to maltreatment increased by 3.34 %. Demographic-linked differences were observed in placement rates and exposure to maltreatment.Conclusions While prior work suggests that reports of child maltreatment have decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study demonstrates that overall rates of substantiated maltreatment resulting in foster care placement have increased for White youth, while rates of placement of due to inadequate supervision, emotional neglect, and/or parental substance use have decreased for Black youth. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.
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Children who lose caregivers to the pandemic may face intensified trauma and may have an immediate need for kinship or foster care at a time when pandemic restrictions may limit access to protective services.
“Children who lose caregivers to the pandemic may face intensified trauma and may have an immediate need for kinship or foster care at a time when pandemic restrictions may limit access to protective services.12–15”
From COVID-19–Associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death in the United States (2021) · cites this paper as [14]
The Discussion reports fewer Florida foster-care placements during the Safer-At-Home order and threats to child-welfare resources, including foster-parent reluctance and reduced accessibility of therapeutic services. It does not address children who lost caregivers to the pandemic, their trauma, or an immediate need for kinship or foster care. No page number is provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)
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- Authors
- Musser, E. D., Riopelle, C., & Latham, R.
- Affiliations
- Florida International University (US)
- University of Miami (US)
- Corresponding author
- Musser, Erica D.
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-06
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- Pt 2
- Pages
- 104945
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7837623
- OpenAlex
- W3121722511
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 7
- FWCI
- 7.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Florida International University Digital Commons (Florida International University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH117280-01)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Child Abuse and Related Trauma
- Keywords
- child abuse, COVID-19 pandemic, foster care placement, substantiated maltreatment, racial disparities, Black youth, white youth, inadequate supervision, emotional neglect, parental substance use
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adolescent, Child, Child Abuse, Child Welfare, Child, Preschool, Female, Florida, Foster Home Care, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Parents, White People, Pandemics
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