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Child Abuse And Neglect Likely On The Rise Amid COVID-19

Farhad Sadykov
/
Flickr / CC-by 2.0

With children away from the public eye during the shelter in place period, it’s more important than ever to be on the lookout for signs of neglect or abuse.

That’s the message from CASA of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, a volunteer organization advocating for kids in the child welfare court system and ensuring they’re placed in safe homes.

Executive Director Pam Perrilles said cases of abuse and neglect are likely on the rise while families are isolated together. But at the same time, hotline calls to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) are dropping.

“Most of the hotline calls, where do they come from? They come from schools, medical, daycares. And so, when kids are not there, of course they’re going to drop off,” she said. “It’s just going to be tougher.”

At the same time, Perrilles said, families are experiencing significant hardship due to the COVID-19 crisis, which may lead to unintended behaviors.

“When you look at the parental stresses of economic instability, losing their jobs, housing insecurity,” she said. “Typically, parents that may not abuse or neglect their child, they’re placed in a crisis situation. Sometimes they don’t know the best way to handle it and it comes out in ways that they didn’t expect it to.”

CASA of the Tenth is currently monitoring 644 kids in Peoria, Tazewell, Marshall, Stark, and Putnam counties.

Volunteers usually check in with the children once a month. Amid COVID-19, that’s been upped to once a week.

Perrilles said the CASA team started working remotely about three weeks ago, with the primary objective of making sure parents and foster parents have what they need to adequately support their children during the pandemic. She said the most common concerns they hear are accessing food, providing computers and internet connectivity, and facilitating online learning for students.

Perrilles said they’re also looking to make sure families stay in contact with caseworkers and meet the obligations of court-mandated counseling. She said court hearings are infrequent due to social distancing guidelines, but that hasn’t reduced the need for child advocates.

“We’re still getting appointed to cases,” she said. “Even though the courts are closed, there are those emergency cases that are coming in. And we need volunteers.”

CASA of the Tenth is hoping to train 20 new volunteers at the end of April, Perrilles said. She said the three week online course is a great way to make a difference in the community during the shelter in place period.

But Perrilles said it’s not just court-involved youth that need support at this time. She said kids and their caretakers are generally struggling to adapt to the new normal, and it’s up to all community members to extend a helping end by offering resources and reporting neglect and abuse.

“We can still do that as we’re isolated,” she said. “We still see things, we still hear of things.”

Find more information on how to get involved with CASA of the Tenth at casaofthetenth.org.

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Dana Vollmer is a reporter with WGLT. Dana previously covered the state Capitol for NPR Illinois and Peoria for WCBU.