Counts and child protection reports of diagnosed child maltreatment before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset.

Background: Mechanisms for reporting child maltreatment (CM) were affected by changes in service provision immediately following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To examine changes in counts and CPS reporting of CM medical encounters before and after the onset of COVID-19.

Participants And Setting: All emergency department and inpatient medical encounters with at least one CM diagnosis during the study period at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, the largest pediatric hospital in California between 2016 and November 2021.

Methods: Using linked medical record and CPS administrative data, interrupted time series models tested for changes in monthly counts and percentages of CM medical encounters reported to CPS with the onset of COVID-19. Logistic regression tested for the likelihood of a CPS report being associated with a CM encounter.

Results: CM medical encounters totaled 2528, including 793 after the onset of COVID-19. Interrupted time series models indicated with the onset of the pandemic, the counts of CM encounters increased 18 % (RR: 1.18, 95 % CI 1.03-1.34) and the percentages reported to CPS increased 10 % (RR: 1.10, 95 % CI: 1.05-1.17). CM encounters that occurred after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had increased odds of a CPS report (fully adjusted model: OR: 1.08; 95 % CI: 1.05-1.12).

Conclusions: This study found increases in monthly counts and a higher percentage of CM medical encounters with CPS reports after the pandemic onset.