Counts and child protection reports of diagnosed child maltreatment before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset

Rebecca Rebbe; Julia Reddy; Jeannie S Huang; Cynthia L Kuelbs; Emily Putnam-Hornstein

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106450

Counts and child protection reports of diagnosed child maltreatment before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Dec:146:106450. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106450. Epub 2023 Sep 13.

Authors

Rebecca Rebbe¹, Julia Reddy², Jeannie S Huang³, Cynthia L Kuelbs⁴, Emily Putnam-Hornstein⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, 325 Pittsboro St, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: rebbe@unc.edu.
² University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: jreddy@email.unc.edu.
³ Rady Children's Hospital, 3020 Children's Way, San Diego, CA 92123, USA; University of California, San Diego Department of Pediatrics, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Electronic address: jshuang@ucsd.edu.
⁴ Rady Children's Hospital, 3020 Children's Way, San Diego, CA 92123, USA; University of California, San Diego Department of Pediatrics, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Electronic address: ckuelbs@rchsd.org.
⁵ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, 325 Pittsboro St, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Children's Data Network, University of Southern California, 669 W 34th St, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. Electronic address: eph@unc.edu.

PMID: 37708644
PMCID: PMC10872595 (available on 2024-12-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106450

Abstract

Background: Mechanisms for reporting child maltreatment (CM) were affected by changes in service provision immediately following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To examine changes in counts and CPS reporting of CM medical encounters before and after the onset of COVID-19.

Participants and setting: All emergency department and inpatient medical encounters with at least one CM diagnosis during the study period at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, the largest pediatric hospital in California between 2016 and November 2021.

Methods: Using linked medical record and CPS administrative data, interrupted time series models tested for changes in monthly counts and percentages of CM medical encounters reported to CPS with the onset of COVID-19. Logistic regression tested for the likelihood of a CPS report being associated with a CM encounter.

Results: CM medical encounters totaled 2528, including 793 after the onset of COVID-19. Interrupted time series models indicated with the onset of the pandemic, the counts of CM encounters increased 18 % (RR: 1.18, 95 % CI 1.03-1.34) and the percentages reported to CPS increased 10 % (RR: 1.10, 95 % CI: 1.05-1.17). CM encounters that occurred after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had increased odds of a CPS report (fully adjusted model: OR: 1.08; 95 % CI: 1.05-1.12).

Conclusions: This study found increases in monthly counts and a higher percentage of CM medical encounters with CPS reports after the pandemic onset.

Keywords: Child abuse; Child maltreatment; Child protection; Injuries; Reporting.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Child
Child Abuse* / diagnosis
Child Welfare
Emergency Service, Hospital
Humans
Mandatory Reporting
Pandemics

Grants and funding

R21 HD105907/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States