Indiana DCS child abuse hotline saw concerning drop-off in reports in 2020

The Indiana Department of Child Services Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline was remote long before the pandemic forced some Hoosiers into working from home.
Across the state, 117 intake specialists work 24/7 to field calls from people reporting concerns that abuse or neglect may be taking place. While they're always busy —Indiana law requires every adult with suspicions of abuse or neglect to report — they've seen a concerning drop-off in reports since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the state last spring.
Last year, the hotline handled more than 216,000 reports of child abuse or neglect, taking on average about 600 calls each business day, according to DCS. That represents a drop of over 26,000 compared to both 2018 and 2019, when intake specialists were taking about 700 calls every weekday. (The number of reports was almost level between 2018-19, with over 242,000 each year.)

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