Kids that experience childhood domestic violence and other adversities at home often prefer school to being at home and many join various extracurricular activities to delay the inevitable even longer.
Adrian Tucker, now an instructional assistant at an elementary school in Durham, NC, was one of those kids who experienced violence in his childhood home, against his mother and himself. He shares his concerns about the recent transition to virtual classes and how he is no longer able to maintain the tangible physical connections that exist when students are attending school in person, which can be critical for children experiencing adversities at home.
Reporting in the Triangle counties of North Carolina seems to show that with remote learning, child and welfare service agencies are losing that connection as well, making it harder to identify and protect kids from adversity. More than 10,000 kids are in North Carolina’s foster system at any given time. But foster entries and placements are now down by the 100s statewide.
Normally, observing this type of decline would signal good news. But experts are concerned that COVID-19, which has brought new stresses across the board, such as financial or health hardships, is masking cases of neglect and abuse.
The reliance on educators, counselors and social workers that see kids on a regular basis to mediate some of these adversities and their negative impact cannot be overstated. Even if one of these adults helps in a non-invasive way, they are a safety net that helps move the needles with respect to awareness and prevention among children facing violence at home.
To read the full article, “ ‘A problem we can’t see’: NC child abuse reports, foster placements drop during pandemic”, please visit The Raleigh News & Record at the following link: https://greensboro.com/a-problem-we-cant-see-nc-child-abuse-reports-foster-placements-drop-during-pandemic/article_468cecea-5f22-11eb-9fde-3f06738c071e.html
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