Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on foster care in the United States

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Under normal circumstances, the United States child welfare systems is considered by experts to be underfunded^[1] and strains social workers with high case loads.^[2] However, during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. experienced an unprecedented lockdown^[3] and national unemployment reached a record high.^[4] This presents an issue because it is recorded that during times of economic stress, child abuse skyrockets.^[5]

A prime example of this occurred in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, which already witnessed a major uptick in abuse rates. Six children, all under the age of 4, were physically abused, as reported by Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. Doctors believe all of these cases were driven by coronavirus- related stress.^[6] In the age of COVID-19, where families were locked inside their homes, human contact was limited, and courts closed, the United States witnessed an aggressive upsurge in child abuse rates as a result of several systemic flaws.