Family & Children’s Services: Severity Of Abuse Calls Rising During Pandemic

One local organization said that while child abuse calls have declined during the pandemic, cases have become more severe.

According to Family & Children’s Services, calls about child abuse have plummeted since stay-at-home orders were put into place, but Christine Marsh said that doesn’t paint the whole picture.

“What they are seeing is it is more severe than prior to COVID,” Marsh said.

Marsh believes children being isolated from the people who typically call about abuse, like teachers and day care providers, is the reason for the decline in calls.