Types of Child Neglect

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 3 of 15)

The Study of National Incidence and Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect sought to overcome the problem of nonuniform definitions of child neglect by utilizing a standard definition of neglect. The definitions of neglect included physical neglect, child abandonment and expulsion, medical neglect, inadequate supervision, emotional neglect and educational neglect by parents, parent substitutes, and other adult caretakers of children. The NIS definitions are categorized as follows:

Physical Neglect

Refusal of Health Care

Failure to provide or allow needed care in accord with recommendations of a competent health care professional for a physical injury, illness, medical condition, or impairment.

Delay in Health Care

Failure to seek timely and appropriate medical care for a serious health problem which any reasonable layman would have recognized as needing professional medical attention.

Abandonment

Desertion of a child without arranging for reasonable care and supervision. This category included cases in which children were not claimed within 2 days, and when children were left by parents/substitutes who gave no (or false) information about their whereabouts.

Expulsion

Other blatant refusals of custody, such as permanent or indefinite expulsion of a child from the home without adequate arrangement for care by others, or refusal to accept custody of a returned runaway.

Other Custody Issues

Custody-related forms of inattention to the child's needs other than those covered by abandonment or expulsion. For example, repeated shuttling of a child from one household to another due to apparent unwillingness to maintain custody, or chronically and repeatedly leaving a child with others for days/weeks at a time.

Other Physical Neglect

Conspicuous inattention to avoidable hazards in the home; inadequate nutrition, clothing, or hygiene; and other forms of reckless disregard of the child's safety and welfare, such as driving with the child while intoxicated, leaving a young child unattended in a motor vehicle, and so forth.

Supervision

Inadequate Supervision

Child left unsupervised or inadequately supervised for extended periods of time or allowed to remain away from home overnight without the parent/substitute knowing (or attempting to determine) the child's whereabouts.

Emotional Neglect

Inadequate Nurturance/Affection

Marked inattention to the child's needs for affection, emotional support, attention, or competence.

Chronic/Extreme Abuse or Domestic Violence

Chronic or extreme spouse abuse or other domestic violence in the child's presence.

Permitted Drug/Alcohol Abuse

Encouraging or permitting drug or alcohol use by the child; cases of the child's drug/alcohol use were included here if it appeared that the parent/guardian had been informed of the problem and had not attempted to intervene.

Permitted Other Maladaptive Behavior

Encouragement or permitting of other maladaptive behavior (e.g., severe assaultiveness, chronic delinquency) in circumstances in which the parent/ guardian had reason to be aware of the existence and seriousness of the problem but did not attempt to intervene.

Refusal of Psychological Care

Refusal to allow needed and available treatment for a child's emotional or behavioral impairment or problem in accord with competent professional recommendation.

Delay in Psychological Care

Failure to seek or provide needed treatment for a child's emotional or behavioral impairment or problem which any reasonable layman would have recognized as needing professional psychological attention (e.g., severe depression, suicide attempt).

Other Emotional Neglect

Other inattention to the child's developmental/emotional needs not classifiable under any of the above forms of emotional neglect (e.g., markedly overprotective restrictions which foster immaturity or emotional overdependence, chronically applying expectations clearly inappropriate in relation to the child's age or level of development, etc.)

Educational Neglect

Permitted Chronic Truancy

Habitual truancy averaging at least 5 days a month was classifiable under this form of maltreatment if the parent/guardian had been informed of the problem and had not attempted to intervene.

Failure to Enroll/Other Truancy

Failure to register or enroll a child of mandatory school age, causing the school-aged child to remain at home for nonlegitimate reasons (e.g., to work, to care for siblings, etc.) an average of at least 3 days a month.

Inattention to Special Education Need

Refusal to allow or failure to obtain recommended remedial educational services, or neglect in obtaining or following through with treatment for a child's diagnosed learning disorder or other special education need without reasonable cause.

According to the 1988 NIS-2 study, almost 43 percent of the identified neglect was physical neglect, which included children living in unsafe housing, not being fed nutritionally adequate meals, being consistently without adequate clothing, and receiving grossly inadequate care for personal hygiene. The second largest category of neglect was inadequate supervision of children (36.6 percent) and failure or delay in providing health care (20.8 percent).

Large numbers of very young children are left without supervision or left in the care of only slightly older children who lack the judgment and maturity to safely provide for the infants and very young children. One study indicated that 22 percent of all first-time reports to New York's central child abuse registry during 1982-1983 contained allegations of lack of supervision. Often, children are left in this dangerous situation while their parents work or attend to other business. This category of neglect is difficult to define. At what age may a child be left unattended, and for what period of time? At what age is a child competent to care for a younger sibling? Much depends upon the safety of the environment and the child's level of maturity and intelligence. These criteria are highly subjective and vary significantly among ethnic and subcultural groups. Young school-aged children in Oriental, Hispanic, and low-income African-American families are often expected to care for very young siblings in the absence of parents. Yet, studies have indicated a relatively high rate of injuries to children and child fatalities due to this type of neglect.

Thus, there are many types of child neglect and an array of contributing factors. Abandonment of the child may stem from parental alcoholism, drug abuse, or despair. Inattention to dangerous, avoidable hazards in the home, such as unprotected heaters or fireplaces, may stem from lack of knowledge, poverty, and/or apathy. A significant delay in obtaining medical treatment for serious, acute, or chronic illness or accidental injury may be the result of lack of knowledge, lack of transportation, prohibitive cost, or other barriers to seeking medical services. Sexual abuse may be the result of a parent's failure to provide adequate supervision of a young child. Alcohol and drug abuse is a factor in a rapidly increasing percentage of child neglect cases, with estimates now running as high as 70 percent in some urban areas. Some parents meet the minimal physical needs of their children, but ignore their need for critical emotional nurturance.

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.