Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment and ...

1 Child ABUSE AND NEGLECT USER manual SERIES Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment and Intervention Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children's Bureau Office on Child Abuse and Neglect Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment , and Intervention Diane DePanfilis 2006 Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children s Bureau Office on Child Abuse and Neglect Table of Contents 3 7 9 21 Emotional,.Psychosocial.

2 29 43 Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment , and Intervention i .. 55 73 aPPendices: . 87 . 93 . 99.. 101 iiii Table of Contents Preface Each day, the safety and well-being of some children across the Nation are threatened by Child abuse and neglect. Intervening effectively in the lives of these children and their families is not the sole responsibility of any single agency or professional group, but rather is a shared community concern. Since the late 1970s, the Child Abuse and Neglect User manual Series has provided guidance on Child protection to hundreds of thousands of interdisciplinary professionals and concerned community members.

3 The User manual Series provides a foundation for understanding Child maltreatment and the roles and responsibilities of various practitioners in its prevention, identification, investigation, Assessment , and treatment. Through the years, the manuals have served as valuable resources for building knowledge, promoting effective practices, and enhancing community collaboration. Since the last update of the User manual Series in the early 1990s, a number of changes have occurred that dramatically affect each community s response to Child maltreatment. This is true particularly in the area of neglect. Both the field and the community increasingly recognize the impact of many factors on neglect, such as poverty, unemployment, and housing, as well as individual and family characteristics.

4 The changing landscape reflects increased recognition of the complexity of issues facing parents and their children, new legislation, practice innovations, and system reform efforts. Significant advances in research have helped shape new directions for interventions, while ongoing evaluations help us to know what works. The Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN) within the Children s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), has developed this third edition of the User manual Series to reflect the increased knowledge base and the evolving state of practice.

5 The updated and new manuals are comprehensive in scope while succinct in presentation and easy to follow, and they address trends and concerns relevant to today s professional. While the User manual Series primarily addresses the issues of Child abuse and neglect, this manual delves deeper into the root causes, symptoms, and consequences of neglect, as well as the interdisciplinary ways to prevent both its occurrence and recurrence. Readers of Child Neglect: A Guide for Assessment , Prevention, and Intervention also may be interested in Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers, which goes into more depth on issues such as family Assessment and case planning.

6 They also may have interest in A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice, the keystone for the series, which addresses the definition, scope, causes, and consequences of Child abuse and neglect. It Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment , and Intervention presents an overview of prevention efforts and the different professional groups and offers guidance on how the groups can work together effectively to protect the safety, permanency, and well-being of children. Child protection process. Because Child protection is a multidisciplinary effort, The Foundation for Practice describes the roles and responsibilities of User manual Series Abuse and Neglect User manual Series.

7 Contact: ,.SW. Washington,. Phone:.(800). (703).385-7565. Fax:.(703).385-3206. Preface ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Author diane. dePanfilis,. ,. ,. is. the. Associate. Dean. for. Research. and. an. Associate. Professor. of. ,.Baltimore,. where. she. teaches. social. work. practice. and. Child . program,.. She. is. also. director. of. the. Institute. for. Human. Services. Policy. and. ,. the. schools. of. social. work. and. medicine. and. the. ,.she. ,.supervisor,. ;. evaluations. and. providing. training. and. technical. ;.and. Child . protective. services. and. the. prevention. of. Child .. She. is. co-editor. of. on Child Protection the.

8 American. Professional. Society. on. the. Abuse. of. Children. Contributing Authors Jeannie. newman,. ,. ,. a. consultant. with. Caliber,. an. ICF. International. Company,. has. held. policy. and. direct. practice. positions. in. Child . an. extensive. network. in. various. related. professional. fields,. including. domestic. violence,. fatherhood,. and. User manual Series. lindsay. ritter. taylor,. a. former. consultant. with. Caliber,. an. ICF. International. Company,. worked. on. projects. relating. to. various. Child . welfare. and. highlighting. findings. from. the. National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being,. a. national. sample.

9 Of. children. who. had. been. abused. or. Additionally,. she. worked. with. the. Caliber. technical. assistance. and. evaluation. teams. on. the. Improving Child Welfare through Systems of ,. ,. ,. ,. variety. of. Child . welfare. issues,. including. foster. care,. adoption,. Jean. strohl,. a. consultant. with. Caliber,. an. ICF. International. Company,. works. as. a. senior. writer/ . She. has. more. than. 15. years. of. experience. in. writing. about. the. influences. of. family. and. social. Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment , and Intervention She. also. has. contributed. to. many. publications. on.

10 The. subjects. of. cultural. diversity. and. understanding. the. underlying. patterns. of. beliefs. and. attitudes. (Hispanic,.Asian,. ,.Russian).. ACknowledgment of Prior edition Neglect: A Guide for Intervention by. James. Gaudin,. Jr.,.. The. prior. version. and. the. author s. other. research. and. work. informed. and. contributed. to. the. reviewers ,. Howard. Dubowitz,. ,. University. of. Maryland. ,.Jr.,. ,. ,. ,.Maryland,.Department. ,. Sarah. Webster,.Texas. Department. of. Protective. and. (retired) teChniCAl Advisory PAnel The. following. were. members. of. the. January. 2001. Technical. Advisory. Panel. for. manual Series.