Child Neglect : Interventions, Part 2

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 6 of 6)

Promising Practices

As mentioned earlier, intervention programs serving neglecting families face numerous challenges. But there are programs that show promise in addressing and treating child neglect. The following sections describe two such projects.

The Chronic Neglect Project St. Louis, Missouri, Division of Family Services (DFS). Recognizing the challenges in effectively serving chronically neglecting families, the St. Louis, Missouri, DFS established a Chronic Neglect Program in 1997 in which staff receive training to recognize and treat chronic neglect. This program examines patterns of behavior, rather than individual incidents, when determining whether or not to intervene to protect a child. A Child Neglect Specialist is available to provide consultation to the staff.

The program emphasizes the empowerment of the family so the family takes ownership of their needs and solutions. Some of the outcomes the program strives to achieve include:

• Significant improvement in parental behavior
• Clear indication of bonding between the parent and child
• A home free of safety hazards
• For children who experienced medical problems as a result of the neglect, documented improvement in their physical development.

The program also emphasizes lasting change; its guidelines state that improvements must have been maintained for at least six months before closing a case to minimize the chance for a re-occurrence.

Family Connections Program, University of Maryland at Baltimore. Family Connections is one of a number of Child Neglect Demonstration Programs funded in 1996 by a 5-year grant from the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This program combines services with education and research. Some of the principles of Family Connections include providing individual assessments and services tailored to the needs of each family, developing partnerships with all family members, empowering family members to have control over their own lives, and delivering culturally competent interventions geared to achieve targeted outcomes. Some of the targeted outcomes include

• The family's ability to meet basic needs
• The parents' abilities to cope with daily stresses and achieve self-sufficiency
• The children's demonstration of developmentally appropriate functioning
• The family's ability to mobilize resources and constructively resolve family conflicts
• The family's effective use of social supports
• The parents' (and/or caregivers') demonstration of appropriate attitudes and skills related to the children's needs.

Research

As many have noted, in spite of the fact that child neglect is more prevalent than other types of child maltreatment, historically it has not received much research attention. For example, Zuravin searched 489 articles published in the International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect between 1992 and 1996; only 25 articles reported empirical findings on neglect only or separately from findings on other types of maltreatment. Clearly, more research is needed to more fully understand the problem of child neglect.

Current Research

Although neglect historically has been studied less than other types of maltreatment, it now seems to be gaining recognition. The Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that of 159 studies examining maltreatment underway in 1998, 93 were studying neglect, alone or in combination with other types of maltreatment, and 74 were differentiating the types of maltreatment so that findings may be understood more clearly.

One ongoing effort to focus research on child neglect is a project entitled "A Longitudinal Study of Child Neglect". This study is part of the Consortium of Longitudinal Studies in Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), which first received funding in 1991 from the Department of Health and Human Services. LONGSCAN is a set of five coordinated research projects designed to examine the antecedents and consequences of child maltreatment. Dubowitz's study on child neglect recently received five additional years of funding from DHHS to continue. The objectives of this study include examining the relationship between various factors and child neglect, exploring fathers' involvement in child neglect and child development, and examining the consequences of child neglect.

A recently launched research effort on child neglect is being sponsored by a consortium of Federal agencies led by the National Institutes of Health. Fifteen awards were granted in October 2000 in response to a Request for Applications for Research on Child Neglect. The projects funded are examining various aspects of neglect using various research models. Some projects are examining sub-types of neglect, consequences of neglect, factors contributing to neglect, and service usage by neglecting families. Some are looking at economic, medical, psychological and behavioral issues. Some are focusing on infants and young children; others are focusing on adolescents. Some are short-term and some are longitudinal. This project promises to bring a wealth and breadth of new information to the field of child neglect.

Recommendations for Future Research

There are numerous recommendations for future research into child neglect. Continued research is needed regarding an accepted definition of neglect, including sub-types of neglect. More research is needed to develop and refine strategies to measure neglect. More research is needed to understand the consequences of neglect for children and factors that might protect children from the harsh consequences. Further studies are needed to examine the association between poverty and neglect, including an exploration of how impoverished parents protect their children from the effects of poverty and avoid neglect. Finally, more research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of various interventions.

Summary and Conclusion

Although child neglect has historically received less attention than other types of maltreatment, in spite of being the most prevalent type, much has been learned about it in recent years. Despite this growing interest, neglect continues to be a complex problem that is difficult to define, identify, and treat.

Neglect is a term used to encompass many situations, their commonality often being a lack of action-an act of omission-regarding a child's needs. Most commonly, neglect is related to a failure to meet a child's physical needs (including food, clothing, shelter, supervision, and medical needs), but neglect also can refer to a failure to meet a child's educational and emotional needs. Neglect can range from a caregiver's momentary inattention to willful deprivation. Single incidents can have no harmful effects or, in some cases, they can result in death. Chronic patterns of neglect may result in severe developmental delays or severe emotional disabilities.

Understanding neglect requires an awareness of related social problems such as poverty, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Interventions to treat children and families affected by neglect require thorough assessments and customized treatment. Defining, identifying, and treating neglect is a significant challenge, but one that researchers, professionals, communities, and families must face together if they are to protect children from the harmful consequences of child neglect.

About the Author

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