Library: Advocacy 

Is it Neglect or Poverty?

Role Assessment:
Factors which Predict the "Likelihood" of Child Neglect
Neglect/Abuse Deaths, by State
Bibliography

ROLE ASSESSMENT:

  FACTORS WHICH PREDICT THE "LIKELIHOOD" OF CHILD NEGLECT

• PREVIOUS REFERRALS FOR NEGLECT

• NUMBER OF PREVIOUS OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENTS

• CARETAKER NEGLECT AS A CHILD

• SINGLE CARETAKER IN HOME AT TIME OF REFERRAL

• CARETAKER HISTORY OF DRUG/ALCOHOL ABUSE

• AGE OF YOUNGEST CHILD AT TIME OF REFERRAL

• NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN HOME

• CARETAKER INVOLVED IN PRIMARILY NEGATIVE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP

• MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE ON PART OF CARETAKER

 Individual Personality Factors
 Strengths (e.g., resourcefulness, concern for children)

Mental Status

• Serious mental illness--------no history of MI

• Impaired intelligence---------high IQ

• Poor reality orientation-------excellent grasp of reality

• Inappropriate affect-----------appropriate. affect

• Symptoms of depression-----none

• Poor judgment-----judgment appropriate for circumstances

• Poor impulse---------good anger management

• Substance abuse--------none

• Overstressed----------stress appropriate for situation

 Parenting knowledge and skills

Interpersonal skills
Physical health
Cooperation
Family System Factors

• Family strengths

• Income

• Size of household

• Stability of relationship with significant partner

• Stability of family membership

• Degree of structure and organization of family

• Family Interaction patterns

• Family Boundaries

Environmental/Community Factors

• Housing

• Neighborhood supports for parenting

• Supportiveness of informal social networks

• Availability of organized parenting support services

 Cultural Strengths

• Strong loyalty to “family”; family ownership of child’s problems

• Strong, supportive family linkages

• Cultural emphasis on discipline, obedience, and respect for elders

• Bicultural competence of children and adults

• Use of humor as a means of coping (African-American families)

• Cultural emphasis on independence of children (Native American families) and interdependence of siblings (Hispanic families)

• Religious values, customs, rituals and institutions that provide spiritual support and reinforce ethical values

• Value placed on education of children

• Strong ethnic community representatives and organizations that help people bargain, negotiate, and obtain resources from larger societal systems

Cultural Barriers

• Language barriers

• Differences in styles of communication

• Discrimination

• Child rearing norms which are not accepted by dominant culture

• Social status differences within groups

• Lack of knowledge about how larger social systems operate in the dominant culture

• Distrust of authority figures from majority culture

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Neglect/Abuse Deaths, by State

State-by-state number of child neglect or abuse fatalities for 1992, and the most recent totals available for 1993, according to nationwide surveys by the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse. Also shown is the rate per 1,000 children of abuse reports in 1991, the most recent year available.   (NA means statistics were not available.)

1 State reports abuse deaths only.
2 Not final number.

Source: National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse; National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Abramovitz, M. "Putting an End to Doublespeak about Race, Gender, and Poverty: An Annotated Glossary for Social Workers." Social Work, Volume 36, 1991, 380-386.

 Andreini, M., and Mangardi, P. Diversified Intervention Project: Diagnosing and Treating Chronic Child Neglect. Supplemental Research. Barriers to Success: Difficulty in Treating Chronic Neglect. Anchorage, AK: Anchorage for Families, 1991.

Beyond Rhetoric, A New American Agenda for Children and Families, Final Report of the National

Commission on Children, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1991.

Christensen, Myra J., et al, “The Prospective Assessment of Self-Concept in Neglectful and Physically Abusive Low Income Mothers," Child Abuse and Neglect, Volume 18, #3, March 1994. 225-233.

Cohn, H. "Stopping Child Abuse before It Occurs: Different Solutions for Different Population Groups." Child Abuse and Neglect, Volume 6, 1982, 473-483.

Derezotes, S. and Snowden, R., "Cultural Factors in the Intervention of Child Maltreatment." Child and Adolescent Social Work Volume 7, 1990, 161-175

Feldman, Kenneth W., Monastersky, Caren, & Feldman, George K., "When is Childhood Drowning Neglect?" Child Abuse and Neglect, Volume 17. #3 May/June 1993, 329-337 

Garbarino, J., and Vondra, J. "Psychological Maltreatment: Issues and Perspectives." In Psychological Maltreatment of Children and Youth, edited by M.R. Brassard, R. Germain, and S.N. Hart. New York: Peragamon Press, 1987.

Gibbs, T., et. al. Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Minority Youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1989.

Gutierrez, L. "Working with Women of Color: An Empowerment Perspective." Social Work, Volume 35, 1990, 149-153.

Helfer, R.E. "The Neglect of Our Children." World and I 5(June 1990): 531-541.

Pelton, L.H. "Poverty and Child Protection." Protecting Children 7 (Winter 1990 -1991):3-5.

Saunders, E., Nelson, K., Landsman, M. "Racial Inequality and Child Neglect: Findings in a Metropolitan Area." Child Welfare, Volume 72 (July-August 1993, 341-354.

Sue, W., and Sue, D. "Cross-Cultural Communication/Counseling Styles." Counseling the Culturally Different, New York: Wiley and Sons, 1990, 49-74.