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The Unintended Cost of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Child Maltreatment. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1214

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Unintended Cost of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Child Maltreatment. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1214
Language: English
Authors: Sungmee Kim, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Source: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2025.
Availability: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 71
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Descriptors: Distance Education, Child Abuse, School Closing, COVID-19, Pandemics, Death, Student Characteristics, Teacher Role, School Role, Disclosure, Barriers, Counties, Elementary Secondary Education, In Person Learning, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Employment Level, Age Differences
Abstract: Education personnel play a crucial role in identifying and reporting child maltreatment. However, school closures amid COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this vital reporting system. I causally investigate how remote learning influenced trends in child maltreatment reports and risks, leveraging county-level variations in remote learning instructional weeks in the United States during the 2020-21 school year. Utilizing maltreatment report and maltreatment-related fatality data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), I find that counties with higher exposure to remote instruction experienced fewer screened-in allegations of school-aged children, but a higher substantiated allegations and an increase in maltreatment-related child fatalities. The reduction in allegations was primarily driven by those reported by education personnel, and the impacts varied significantly based on characteristics such as the child's race/ethnicity and the type of maltreatment. These results highlight an unintended cost of distance learning: remote instruction impaired the detection of child maltreatment, leading to fewer reports but more severe cases that could have lasting impacts on children. They also urge prompt policy interventions to safeguard children who remain undetected and to repair the reporting gaps caused by educator-child disconnection.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED674099
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Education personnel play a crucial role in identifying and reporting child maltreatment. However, school closures amid COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this vital reporting system. I causally investigate how remote learning influenced trends in child maltreatment reports and risks, leveraging county-level variations in remote learning instructional weeks in the United States during the 2020-21 school year. Utilizing maltreatment report and maltreatment-related fatality data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), I find that counties with higher exposure to remote instruction experienced fewer screened-in allegations of school-aged children, but a higher substantiated allegations and an increase in maltreatment-related child fatalities. The reduction in allegations was primarily driven by those reported by education personnel, and the impacts varied significantly based on characteristics such as the child's race/ethnicity and the type of maltreatment. These results highlight an unintended cost of distance learning: remote instruction impaired the detection of child maltreatment, leading to fewer reports but more severe cases that could have lasting impacts on children. They also urge prompt policy interventions to safeguard children who remain undetected and to repair the reporting gaps caused by educator-child disconnection.