Mesopolhis / IRTS-PACA study day
The health crisis in child protection: unprecedented consequences

The COVID-19 health crisis and the period of initial containment for 3 months in France in March-April-May 2020 had considerable repercussions on child protection, both in terms of domestic violence and institutional care. There was a 30 % increase in domestic violence and child abuse1, and at the same time a halt to the operation of legal institutions and to any new care provision. Over and above this, this period also had consequences for children already in foster care, with a halt to parental visits and medical and psychological monitoring, and total confinement to the foster family, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How have social workers, family assistants and children in child protection care experienced these various confinements? What impact did the confinements have on the relationships between the children in care, their foster families, their educators and their parents? How did the health crisis and the confinements play out within the protection authorities? These are just some of the questions we will be trying to answer at this study day on 30 May 2021 at the Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l'Homme (MMSH) in Aix-en-Provence.

A number of French and European experts and researchers will be presenting their latest research findings and contributing to the debate on COVID-19 and its consequences for child protection.