Reports of child abuse fall, but actual figures remained steady during pandemic
Reports of child abuse declined in Butler County in 2020, only to rise again during 2021 as the area recovered from the effects of COVID-19 restrictions. The figures mirror the national trend.
This information comes from a report by the state Department of Human Services on child protective service. The report, delivered Sept. 6, provides information to the public on child abuse incidents and investigations.
“We were able to continue our services though,” said Charley Johns, executive director of the county Children & Youth Services team. “We were able to see children in the home throughout the pandemic. We definitely did not slow what we did during that time.”
The rate of abuse cases verified by Butler County’s Children & Youth Services team remained steady, even amid the sudden decline in reports. While the county’s total of reported cases dropped from 440 to 363 from 2019 to 2020, CYS still found between 38 and 40 cases of verified abuse each year.
This means the percentage of child abuse reports that CYS verified rose steadily and then peaked amid the pandemic, ranging from 7% to 9% across 2014 to 2019 before jumping to 11% in 2020.
Johns stressed the importance of the community’s role in the intervention of child abuse cases.
"That’s something that I go into the community and do a lot of,“ Johns said, “letting people know that making that call and doing that report to ChildLine is something that we need to help children and is something that they shouldn’t be afraid to do.“
ChildLine — 800-932-0313 — is the Department of Human Services’ hotline for receiving calls about child abuse or general child well-being. It operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Johns said reliable support from professionals in the field has enabled the county to rely consistently on traditional reporting rather than on algorithms, such as the family screening tool.
The family screening tool, which neighboring counties, such as Allegheny, have deployed to better manage information and pinpoint areas of concern, has invited both praise and criticism, since it draws greater attention to vulnerable communities that often have more interaction with government services.
“I’m thankful to the people that still want to be in this field despite its challenges,” Johns said. “A lot of the time, there’s a lack of reward, because at times there isn’t too much success that you can see in a case or in a worker or provider role.”
The waning percentage of reported cases revealed to be substantiated abuse signals a return to balance after COVID-19. After more than a year of disruption, community support networks seem to welcome the renewed contact with families and children that had played a key role in ensuring children’s safety.
“Our teaming is critical to family success,” said Dr. Elan Welter Lewis of Family Pathways, a Butler-based organization that brings a network of services together to serve children and families. “Butler County is really dedicated to their teaming and working to help families keep their children safe in their homes, if possible.”
”I think that we’re very lucky to have the individuals that are so dedicated in Butler County, in human services, and in the child welfare system, because they truly do focus on what’s best for our community,” Lewis said.
