The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has seen about a sharp drop in reports of child abuse and neglect since the Governor directed schools to close to slow the spread of COVID-19.
From Mar. 8-14, which was the week prior to the closures, 765 calls a week were made on average each week to the Child Abuse Hotline(1-866-820-5437) from Montana.
Since the closure, the number of calls has dropped by around 44 percent to an average of 425 calls a week.