Children’s advocacy center says child abuse, neglect increased due to pandemic

Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County explained Monday there is an uptick of child neglect and abuse, and the center says it stems from the pandemic.

Food pantries are busy feeding more families in need, and for many, managing stress or anxiety this past year has proved difficult.

The center says the pandemic could be to blame for a new scary trend taking a toll on kids.

“What we have seen the last few months are situations involving substance abuse or mental health issues with parents that affect their ability to parent their children,” said Jackie Stephens, the CEO of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County.

“There’s been a lot of stressors on parents, financial, emotional,” Stephens said.

Over the past six months, Stephens said, “That’s really the majority of the type of situations that we see that come to us … They might drink more or have mental health issues or other issues that they were sort of on the brink before, and now, it’s become more of an issue for them.”

It’s something that can harm a child for life. The center says reports of abused and neglected kids originally went down around 30% statewide at the beginning of the pandemic.

Stephens believes the opening of schools in part has to do with the reports rising again, as many cases are reported by teachers and school officials.

“Neglect can really have a significant impact on kids,” Stephens said. “It affects how they learn, their emotions.”