The Marshall Project

Coronavirus Leaves Foster Children With Nowhere to Go

New placements, family visits and child-abuse investigations falter across the country.

The foster care system, built on frequent movements of children from one home to another and regular in-person supervision, has been especially wracked with confusion and dread by the coronavirus crisis.

In some states, investigators of child abuse have told The Marshall Project they are so fearful of spreading the illness from home to home that some are trying to do their investigating from the front door, or even over videochat, instead of going inside.

Afraid of bringing the virus into their families, some foster parents are also refusing to accept new children, even if there is no indication they have the virus. Two youth advocates said in interviews that in this climate, they fear foster children are

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Marshall Project

The Marshall Project2 min readCrime & Violence
Subjects To Debate
News Inside knows that political debates are always taking place behind the wall, even after the presidential election. That’s why Issue 6 is full of information that will help folks inside strengt...
The Marshall Project5 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Why My First Thanksgiving in Prison Was The Best One I’d Had In Forever
Between being sober, getting a visit and having a surprise feast with the mean girls in my unit, I still cherish that day.
The Marshall Project8 min readPolitics
No-Show Prison Workers Cost Mississippi Taxpayers Millions
When Darrell Adams showed up for an overnight shift at the Marshall County Correctional Facility in rural Mississippi, he was one of six officers guarding about 1,000 prisoners. Adams said he thought that was normal; only half-a-dozen guards had been

Related Books & Audiobooks