Finally, severity of child abuse was examined by studying substantiated child fatality and near fatality reports (Table 1).24 An analysis of quarterly county reports from the PA Department of Human Services discovered the amount of fatality/near fatality reports nearly doubled from three cases in both 2018 and 2019 to five cases in 2020 (Table 1).24 The only forms of abuse listed in child fatality and near fatality reports were serious physical neglect and physical abuse (Table 1).24 INDEPENDENT VARIABLES - COVID-19 CASES No clear correlations were found when monthly totals of child abuse were plotted against monthly totals of COVID-19 cases in Berks County (Figure 8). Therefore, it may be more likely that COVID-19 indirectly increased child abuse by eliciting political, economic, and public health responses by society. Figure 7. includes the monthly trends of child abuse report totals and unemployment rates in Berks County obtained from the PA Department of Labor & Industry. The child abuse data displayed above was provided by the Child Abuse Committee at the Tower Health Reading Hospital. Table 1. shows the cases of child fatality and near fatality in Berks County in 2018, 2019, and 2020. This data was collected from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES - UNEMPLOYMENT RATE In order to observe the independent variables created by COVID-19 and its consequential " shutdowns, " monthly Berks County unemployment rate and child abuse report trends were compared. Interestingly, the increase in monthly total child abuse reports made by staff at Tower Health Reading Hospital generated a negative association with unemployment rates of Berks County at the time (Figure 7). 25 Basic observations suggest a possible lag time as child reports spiked two months after an unemployment rate peak in April of 2020 (Figure 7). 25 Figure 8. includes the monthly total trends of both child abuse report totals and COVID-19 case totals in Berks County. COVID-19 monthly totals were calculated using daily case totals obtained from the Covid Act Now Coalition. The child abuse data displayed above was provided by the Child Abuse Committee at the Tower Health Reading Hospital. continued on next page F ALL 2021 | 21