A new working paper by Sungmee Kim, Ph.D., Cook Center Postdoctoral Associate, sheds light on a troubling consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s shift to remote learning: a rise in severe child maltreatment that went largely undetected by schools. Titled “The Unintended Cost of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Child Maltreatment,” the study is part of the Brown University Annenberg EdExchange Working Paper Series. Dr. Kim investigates how variations in remote learning across U.S. counties during the 2020–21 school year impacted child maltreatment reporting and outcomes.
Using national data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), Kim finds that counties with more weeks of remote instruction reported fewer maltreatment allegations involving school-aged children. However, those same counties saw an increase in substantiated cases and a rise in maltreatment-related child fatalities. The decline in reporting was largely driven by a reduction in allegations made by education personnel, underscoring the critical role schools play in identifying and responding to child abuse. The findings also reveal disparities by race/ethnicity and type of maltreatment, with some children more vulnerable to underreporting and severe outcomes than others.
“This research highlights an unintended but urgent cost of distance learning,” Kim writes. “The disconnection between students and educators during school closures weakened a vital safety net, resulting in fewer reports but more serious, and in some cases fatal, consequences for children.”
Read the full paper here: The Unintended Cost of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Child Maltreatment | EdWorkingPapers
