Defining Child Neglect

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 2 of 15)

Differences in definitions of child neglect in State laws and in community standards reflect the significant variations in the judgments of professionals and nonprofessionals concerning what constitutes child neglect. Some State statutes emphasize the condition of the child without any mention of parental fault; others stress the condition of the child resulting from parental actions or fault. Some communities have determined that no child under age 10 should be left at home alone, while other communities "permit" working parents to leave their children unsupervised after school.

Defining neglect is complicated by the necessity of considering the following:

• What are the indispensable, minimally adequate types of care that children require?
• What actions or failures to act on the part of the parents or other caretaker constitute neglectful behavior?
• Must the parent's or caretaker's action or inaction be intentional, willful or not?
• What are the effects of the actions or inactions on the child's health, safety, and development?
• Is the family's situation a result of poverty, or a result of parental neglect?

Legal advocates have suggested that definitions of neglect which focus only on the behavior of the parent or caretaker are inadequate. They strongly advocate that the parents' behavior must result in some specific physical damage or impairment or some identifiable symptoms of emotional damage to a child resulting from the parents' behavior or failure to act. Some researchers have also included resultant damage to the physical, emotional, or intellectual development and well-being of the child in the definitions of neglect. Zuravin has concluded, on the contrary, that the focus should be on the actions of the parents, not on the consequences of their behavior, nor on their intent or culpability. Parents who leave preschool-aged children without adult supervision for an hour or more are neglectful, regardless of their intent, or whether the child suffers serious injury or not.

Conceptual definitions of neglect vary, in part, depending on the purpose for which the definition is used. Legal advocates insist on clear evidence of serious harm to a child before court intervention to remove a child from parents. On the other hand, for caseworkers intervening with a family to prevent placement and to protect the child from further harm, the definition of neglect must focus on parental omissions in care that are likely to increase the risk of harm to the child. For researchers interested in studying the long- and short-term consequences of neglect for the child, definitions of neglect would need to focus on parental behaviors that result in harm to the child.

Polansky's conceptual definition of child neglect is widely accepted:

"A condition in which a caretaker responsible for the child, either deliberately or by extraordinary inattentiveness, permits the child to experience avoidable present suffering and/or fails to provide one or more of the ingredients generally deemed essential for developing a person's physical, intellectual, and emotional capacities."

This definition meets the demand for inclusion of parental actions, which result in some negative consequences for the child, but fails to specify the required degree of harm to the child. The problem comes in defining what is "generally deemed essential" for a child's physical, intellectual, and emotional development. This definition is heavily dependent upon the ever-changing status of our knowledge about what is physically and psychologically essential for a child's healthy growth and development.

There is a lack of consensus among parents and even among child development researchers on what is essential for child development. Standards of what is essential continue to change as we learn more about child development and those things that impede or enhance children's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. For example, the legal requirement that children be restrained in car seats clearly defines a new standard for "minimally adequate care" of children while traveling in cars.

These operational definitions of neglect are highly dependent upon the standards of the local community and of the caseworker who investigates reports of neglect. However, infants and very young children left without adult supervision for hours, children who are not fed regularly, children who are not taken for necessary medical treatment when ill, chronically dirty, lice-infested children, or chronically truant children are consistently accepted as having experienced neglect.

Definitions of what is minimally adequate care or, conversely, inadequate care for children, must also take into account cultural variations in standards for adequate care of children. Significant differences in ratings of the severity of specific indicators of abuse and neglect among social workers, police, attorneys, and judges and among African-American, Hispanic, and white subjects were discovered in one study. African-American subjects rated indicators of physical neglect as significantly more severe instances of inadequate care than did whites or Hispanics. On the other hand, another study concluded that when presented with critical incidents descriptive of child neglect, there was substantial agreement among white, Hispanic, and African-American subjects on basic standards of care for children. Clearly, cultural variations require further consideration in practice and in research.

Poverty is a significant confounding factor in defining child neglect. Although most impoverished families manage to provide strong, nurturing care for their children, the association of child neglect with poverty is clearly supported by many studies. Families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) are often reported for neglect. Even among impoverished families, neglectful families are the "poorest of the poor," often lacking adequate housing, health care, and child care.

The difficulty comes in establishing the parents' accountability for providing minimally adequate necessities for their children, such as after school supervision and medical care, in the face of inadequate income, and the absence of accessible, affordable medical and supportive social services. Some State laws specifically exempt inadequate child care because of poverty from the definition of neglect by adding the clause "in spite of availability." Working parents without health insurance may find medical care for their children beyond their resources. Nevertheless, children who are deprived of medical treatment when they are ill are being neglected, regardless of the cause.

About the Author

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Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.