Because children and adolescents spend a large portion of their time in school, educators, nurses, coaches, psychologists, administrators, bus drivers and maintenance staff have more access to students than most other professionals–indeed most other people–including sometimes their parents. School personnel, especially educators, have a vital role in identifying, reporting and preventing child abuse and neglect.

Consequently, over the years, schools have worked closely with the Department of Children and Families, as well as mental health professionals and others, to develop programs directed at informing educators that they are a valuable resource. As mandated reporters, all educators have the responsibility not only to report suspected abuse, but also to know how to make a report, to be familiar with their district's policies and reporting procedures, and to communicate with child protection services. Educators have a deep sense of their professional responsibility to the children in their care. They are concerned about their health, safety, and happiness. Educators recognize that they are role models for the children they teach and that they may be an important source of support, concern, and care for many children.

There are many reasons why educators are so vital in identifying, treating, and preventing child maltreatment. Some are obvious: first, they have close and consistent contact with children; second, they have a professional and legally mandated responsibility for reporting suspected maltreatment; third, school personnel have a unique opportunity to advocate for children, as well as provide programs and services that can help children and strengthen families. It is important to realize that a positive relationship with a supporting adult may enhance the resiliency of children who have been abused, are at-risk for being abused, or live in a home where no abuse occurs but the family experiences other problems, such as substance abuse. Indeed, roughly 92% of the cases reported to DCF involve allegations of neglect, not abuse. So while educators facilitate children's learning, they do so much more.

Additionally, schools provide facilities such as auditoriums or conference rooms to groups or for school-sponsored public forums and workshops on child abuse and neglect prevention. They host joint school-community adult education programs on such topics as alternative disciplinary methods and early childhood growth and development. School buildings can be made available for daycare, crisis care, and after-school care programs operated by social service agencies and school staff often serve as consultants, leaders, and facilitators of these programs. School-community partnerships for the welfare of children have existed for years, and these partnerships now even include efforts to work to help reduce delinquency. So what happens when, due to the crisis of the Corona virus, the current schools are closed, public programs are suspended and convening in most public places is prohibited? Calls of suspected abuse and neglect drop precipitously.

In any given year, the Careline at DCF, where all calls of abuse and neglect are received, gets 110,000, calls, over half of which, or 60,000, result in actual reports of abuse and/or neglect. That's 5,000 reports each month on average. When I first became Commissioner the number of calls received the prior year was approximately 90,000. That number grew steadily as the opioid crisis grew and remained fairly constant at 110,000 for the last few years of my tenure. Recent conversations with former colleagues at the agency make me very nervous. The phones are barely ringing. One latest report indicated that the Careline had received 60 calls in a day.

If the above statistics hold true, that translates to 33 reports a day, and 1000 a month. That is not a good thing. It means that children are not being seen. It means that 4,000 reports every month are not being made. And unlike during the summer school recess when children are much more visible at town programs, camps, playgrounds, or community gatherings, children are behind closed doors, often unsupervised and certainly beyond the reach of all the schools employees who have been trained to be their seraphs.

These are unusual times and I think it's safe to say that we are in a crisis. But these children and families cannot simply be collateral damage. Lawyers who are already representing these children or their parents should reach out, make sure that services are being provided and that DCF knows of any concerns you have.

For anyone reading this, check on children you know and don't be afraid to call the Careline yourselves with concerns or questions. If children are home, so are parents, many of whom hold jobs that cannot be performed remotely, which means that there will be economic consequences. And if parents are not home, then that's another problem. But cases of abuse and neglect, despite common misconceptions, are not confined to only certain zip codes. Instances of domestic violence rose dramatically among the affluent during the 2008 recession, and last time I looked we were headed for another one. All this to say that in this time of uncertainty, as we figure out how to practice law remotely, let's also think about ways we can safely help children and families in our communities.

Former Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz is a partner at Shipman & Goodwin in Hartford.