Association of routine school closures with child maltreatment reporting and substantiation in the United States; 2010-2017

Background: There exists a presumption that school closures lead to a diminished capacity to detect child maltreatment, but empiric evidence is lacking. Objective: To determine if child maltreatment reporting and substantiation differ between periods when schools are routinely closed compared to in session. Participants and setting: Child maltreatment reporting and substantiation among all U.S. States and the District of Columbia from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2017. Methods: Two-week intervals during periods of routine school closure (early January, June through mid-August, late November, and late December) were compared to all other 2-week intervals. Negative binomial generalized estimating equations compared rates of reporting and substantiation, resulting in incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Compared to when school was in session, reporting was 16.0% (IRR 0.84 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.85]) lower during school closures and substantiations were 12.3% (IRR 0.88 [95% CI: 0.86, 0.89]) lower. The largest reductions in reporting were observed among education personnel (-42.1%; IRR 0.58 [95% CI: 0.54, 0.62]), children aged 5-17 years (-18.6%; IRR 0.81 [95% CI: 0.80, 0.83), and for physical abuse (-19.6%; IRR 0.80 [95% CI: 0.79, 0.82]). Reductions during closure periods were not matched by increases during two-week intervals immediately following closure periods. Conclusions: Results suggest that the detection of child maltreatment may be diminished during periods of routine school closure. Findings may inform prevention planning and risk-benefit analyses for future school closures. Further study should disentangle the issue of decreased detection versus decreased prevalence of maltreatment during school closures.

Automated summary

The study found that rates of reporting and substantiation of child maltreatment significantly decreased during school closures, particularly among education personnel and adolescents. The reduction in reporting during closure periods was not offset by increases in the two weeks following closures.