A Pandemic of Child Abuse?, with Anna Arons

In March 2020, we heard ominous warnings of ‘pandemic of child abuse’ accompanying the COVID-19 shut downs. Children went home, away from the watchful eyes of mandated reporters, and back to their families. 

But did cases of child abuse actually increase during the added stress of the pandemic? 

This week, Jim sits down with Anna Arons, a professor at the NYU School of Law. Anna has previously worked as a family defender at the Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, representing parents in child welfare cases.

Anna explains what actually happened in New York’s child protection agency during the pandemic and why the alarm about spiking child abuse during the pandemic has largely dissolved. 

Read more about Anna’s research in her recent law review article (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=38152170).