Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor spoke to EdSource for an article on the steep drop in reports of child abuse in California since the COVID-19 pandemic closed school campuses. With teachers no longer seeing students in person in most parts of the state, advocates say thousands of cases of child abuse may be going unreported, the article noted. In a recent survey of school social workers, 59% said they felt the pandemic is compounding child abuse and neglect, at least to a moderate degree. Astor, part of the research team that conducted the survey, said that schools, especially those in low-income neighborhoods, must become community hubs where families can get food, health care, mental health services, and job and housing resources. “Everyone needs to be shifting their roles right now because the pandemic isn’t going away any time soon,” Astor said. “If we help these families, they won’t forget. They’ll remember that school can uplift you.”