Throughout the spring, child welfare agencies across the country were warning about a precipitous decline in reports made to child abuse hotlines. Massachusetts saw a drop of 55%. In New York City, it was 51%. In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the Division of Children and Family Services received 1,486 complaints of abuse or neglect in April and May, down from 2,934 during those months in 2019.

No one thinks the reports are the result of children being subjected to less maltreatment. Rather, it’s that children are not being seen. More than a fifth of maltreatment reports in 2018 came from teachers.