The threat of the novel coronavirus has forced many of us to shelter in place, leaving more than 17 million Americans without jobs. Just last week, 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits, according to the Washington Post. Also impacted are the children and adolescents in foster care--an already flawed system--and in some cases, broken. 

On any given day, there are about 440,000 children in foster care in the United States, according to Children’s Rights, a nonprofit organization advocating for better child welfare systems in America. The health and economic disaster is putting the vulnerable youth at more of a risk to be abused, to have nowhere to live, and to be separated from their families. 

Family courts are shutting down, but children are still being removed from homes where neglect or abuse is suspected, according to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit journalism organization that focuses on criminal justice issues. Without open family courts, children who are not being abused or neglected by their parents/guardians cannot go back home, and because programs like parenting classes and drug treatment are currently cancelled, parents are unable to prove they are ready to get their children back.

Doctors are concerned that stress from food insecurity, unemployment, and risk of illness will cause the rate of physical abuse to rise. Because of social distancing, children living in abusive homes are isolated from people like teachers and school staff who care and are obligated to file reports of mistreatment, alleged or not. Not enough research has been done about how many foster children experience abuse from a foster parent, but one study of foster children in Oregon and Washington found that nearly one third reported abuse in their foster homes, not including abuse from other foster children. A Psychology Today article reported that over 28% of children in foster care in New York are abused while in the system. These underreported statistics and studies were conducted under normal circumstances, so it can be safely assumed that the number of foster children facing abuse during the coronavirus pandemic is higher. According to The Marshall Project, “the Trump administration’s Children’s Bureau last week said that in extraordinary circumstances, the in-person requirement can be waived,” so child welfare agencies are trying to come up with alternatives to in-person check ins like videochatting. The problem with videochat is, although the child welfare agent can see the child, they do not know who may be in the same room as them and cannot see the reality of the child’s living situation.

In addition to fears of increased child abuse, social workers are finding it difficult to find foster parents for children who have not been placed in foster homes prior to shelter-in-place orders. Some foster parents are worried about accepting new foster children because they don’t know if they may have been in contact with someone who has the coronavirus. According to The Marshall Project, fears that foster children will become homeless or resort to couch-surfing are increasing as group homes become understaffed due to caretakers staying at home, and elderly foster parents are unable to be around young people. If child services cannot find safe places to house foster children, the already vulnerable population runs a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus and spreading it further.