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COVID-19 Survivor Impact Briefs Children and Youth.
Vera Institute of Justice. National Resource Center for Reaching Victims.
National Child Advocacy Center.
Briefing Materials
5 p.
Copyright
Published: April 2020
Vera Institute of Justice, National Resource Center for Reaching Victims
34 35th Street
Suite 4-2A
Brooklyn, NY 11232
Tel: 212-334-1300
Fax: 212-941-9407
contactvera@vera.org
Available From:http://www.vera.org/
Sponsoring Organization: United States. Office of Justice Programs. Office for Victims of Crime.
Download: https://reachingvictims.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Children-and-Youth-Survivors-Impact-Brief-April-2020_5.19.20.pdf
The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims conducted a series of listening sessions to determine the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on underserved victims of crime and to better resource the crime victim services field to respond to those needs. This brief summarizes the issues and strategies that emerged from listening sessions on children and youth survivors. Findings indicate: anecdotal reports from Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and hospitals suggest spikes in the number of severe physical abuse cases and child fatalities; throughout the country reporting of child abuse has seen dramatic declines; while CACs worked quickly to ensure they were categorized as essential services, few were immediately prepared to safety provide services in such new ways; an array of new and challenging barriers to multidisciplinary partnerships imposed by COVID-19 mitigation efforts have already begun to erode the integrity of the longstanding model of service; and service providers, likely with strained funding, fewer staff, and limited protection resources, will have to find ways to provide services as communities and schools begin to reopen at a volume that will in many areas exceed capacity. Promising strategies are discussed for providing essential services, tele-mental health, virtual teaming, and networking and communication. (Author abstract modified)
Keywords:
COVID-19; remote service delivery; disaster response; child abuse; childhood trauma; child advocacy; child welfare services; multidisciplinary teams; barriers;