Deviations in criminal filings of child abuse and neglect during COVID-19 from forecasted models: An analysis of the state of Oklahoma, USA.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to risk factors for child abuse and neglect and disrupted conventional abuse surveillance.

Objective: The goal of this study was to assess how counts of criminal charges have been affected by COVID-19 social distancing measures and related policy changes.

Participants And Setting: This study used publicly available court filings pertaining to child abuse and neglect from Jan 1, 2010 to June 30, 2020.