A drop in child abuse would usually be welcome news – but with schools closed and kids at home, experts believe that the recent decline in calls to child abuse and neglect hotlines might really mean more cases are going unnoticed. “In very stressed communities where there have been a lot of job losses – even the families where the adults have managed to maintain employment – that community has an increased risk for child maltreatment because of concerns of everyone in that community about uncertainty around their jobs, feelings of instability, worry about the future,” she said.