The purpose of this article is to stimulate reflection and discussion on a subject that has received surprisingly little coverage: chronic child neglect. The article selectively reviews the literature and offers fresh observations and critical reflections pertaining to both causation and intervention. Chronic child neglect must, it is argued, be understood in greater depth and complexity in order to develop more effective interventions. In particular, a better understanding of the effects of long term, severe and concentrated poverty on parent's morale is needed to support interventions capable of infusing hope and bringing about a social world in which hope can thrive.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-89, 42 U.S.C. 1305, 111 Stat. 2115 (1997).
2.
BarnettW. S. (1998). Long-term effects on cognitive development and school success. In BarnettW. S. & BoocockS. S. (Eds.), Early care and education for children in poverty: Promises, programs, and long-term results (pp. 11–44). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
3.
BarnettW. S., YoungJ.W., & SchweinhartL. J. (1998). How preschool education influences long-term cognitive development and school success: A causal model. In BarnettW.S. & BoocockS. S. (Eds.), Early care and education for children in poverty: Promises, programs, and long-term results (pp. 167–184). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
4.
BoocockS. S. & LarnerM. (1998). Long-term outcomes in other nations. In BarnettW. S. & BoocockS. S. (Eds.), Early care and education for children in poverty: Promises, programs, and long-term results (pp. 45–76). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
5.
BarthR. P. (1994). Long-term in-home services. In BesharovD. J. & HansonK.W. (Eds.), When drug addicts have children: Reorienting child welfare's response (pp. 175–194). Washington, DC: CWLA Press.
6.
BerrickJ. D. (1997). Child neglect: Definition, incidence, outcomes, Part 1. In BerrickJ. D., BarthR. P., & GilbertN. (Eds.), Child welfare research review, Vol. II (pp. 1–12). New York: Columbia University Press.
7.
BerrickJ. D., & DuerrM. (1997). Preventing child neglect: A study of an in-home program for children and families. In BerrickJ. D., BarthR. P., & GilbertN. (Eds.), Child welfare research review, Vol. II (pp. 63–83). New York: Columbia University Press.
8.
BerrickD. J., NeedellB., BarthR. P., Jonson-ReidM. (1998). The tender years. New York: Oxford University Press.
9.
BesharovD. J., & HansonK.W. (Eds). (1994). When drug addicts have children: Reorienting child welfare's response. Washington, DC: CWLA Press.
10.
BruerJ. T. (1999). The myth of the first three years. New York: The Free Press.
11.
BurleyM., & HalpernM (2001). Educational attainment of foster youth: Achievement and graduation outcomes for children in state care. Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
12.
CoiroM. J. (2001). Depressive symptoms among women receiving welfare. In LennonM. C. (Ed.), Welfare, work and well-being (pp. 1–24). Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
13.
ChalkR., GibbonsA., ScarupaH. J. (2002). The multiple dimensions of child abuse and neglect: New insights into an old problem. Child Trends Research Brief. Washington, DC: Child Trends. Available http://www.childtrends.org/Files/ChildAbuseRB.pdf.
14.
ClarkH.W. (2001). Residential substance abuse treatment for pregnant and postpartum women and their children: Treatment and policy implications, Child Welfare, 80, 179–198.
15.
CohnA. H., & DaroD. (1987). Is treatment too late: What ten years of evaluative research tell us. Child Abuse & Neglect, 11, 433–442.
16.
CulpR. E., & CulpA. M., (1989). Self-esteem and depression in abusive, neglecting, and nonmaltreating mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 10, 243–251.
17.
DaroD. (1988). Confronting child abuse: Research for an effective program design. New York: The Free Press.
18.
DashL. (1997). Rosa Lee, a mother and her family in urban America. New York: HarperCollins.
19.
DaroD. (1988). Confronting child abuse: Research for an effective program design. New York: The Free Press.
20.
DeccioG., HornerW. C., & WilsonD. (1994). High-risk neighborhoods and high-risk families: Replication research related to the human ecology of child maltreatment, Journal of Social Service Research, 18, 123–137.
21.
DePanfilisD. (1999). Intervening with families when children are neglected. In DubowitzH. (Ed.) Neglected children: Research, practice, policy (pp. 211–236). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
22.
DePanfilisD. (1996). Social isolation of neglectful families: A review of social support assessment and intervention models, Child Maltreatment, 1, 37–56.
23.
DePanfilisD., & ZuravinS. J. (1999). Epidemiology of child maltreatment recurrences,”Social Service Review, 73, 218–238.
24.
Department of Social and Health Services, Children's Administration. (2002, December). Children's Administration Performance Report 2002: Public and legislative accountability for child safety, permanence and well-being. Olympia, WA: Author.
25.
Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis, Children's Administration, Executive Management Information System. (2003). Child protective services. Washington State: Author.
26.
Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis, Children's Administration, Executive Management Information System. (2005). Child protective services. Olympia, WA: Author.
27.
EnglishD. J., MarshallD. B., BrummelS., & OrmeM. (1999). Characteristics of repeated referrals to child protective services in Washington state, Child Maltreatment, 4, 297–307.
28.
EnglishD. J., MarshallD. B., BrummelS. C., & CoghlanL. K. (1998). Decision-making in child protective services: A study of effectiveness, final report, phase I: Quantitative analysis (federal grant 90-CA-1563). Olympia, WA: Administration for Children Youth and Families.
29.
FlukeJ. D., YuanY-Y. T., EdwardsM. (1999). Recurrence of maltreatment: An application of the national child abuse and neglect data system (NCANDS). Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 633–650.
30.
FrameL., BerrickJ. D., & BrodowskiM. L. (2000). Understanding reentry to out-of-home care for reunified infants, Child Welfare, 79, 339–372.
31.
FranklV. E. (1959). Man's search for meaning. New York: Washington Square.
GaudinJ. M., & DubowitzH. (1997). Family functioning in neglectful families: Recent research. In BerrickJ. D., BarthR. P., & GilbertN. (Eds.), Child Welfare Research Review, Vol. II (pp. 28–62). New York: Columbia University Press.
34.
GregoireK. A., & SchultzD. J. (2001). Substance-abusing child welfare parents: Treatment and child placement outcomes. Child Welfare, 80, 433–452.
35.
HartleyC. C. (2002). The co-occurrence of child maltreatment and domestic violence: Examining both neglect and child physical abuse. Child Maltreatment, 7, 349–358.
36.
HegarR. L., & YungmanJ. J. (1989). Toward a causal typology on child neglect. Children and Youth Services Review, 11, 203–220.
37.
HerrenkohlE. C., HerrenkohlR. C., RupertL. J., EgolfB. P., & LutzG. J. (1995) Risk factors for behavioral dysfunction: The relative impact of maltreatment, SES, physical health problems, cognitive ability, and quality of parent-child interaction. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 191–203.
38.
HildyardK. L., & WolfeD. A. (2002). Child neglect: development issues and outcomes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 679–695.
39.
IllickJ. E. (2002). American childhoods. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
40.
InkelasM., & HalfonN (1997). Recidivism in child protective services. Children and Youth Services Review, 19, 139–161.
41.
LennonM. C. (Ed.). (2001). Welfare, work and well-being. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
42.
LindseyD. (1994). The welfare of children. New York: Oxford University Press.
43.
ManlyJ., KimJ. E., RogoschF. A., & CicchettiD. (2001). Dimensions of child maltreatment and children's adjustment: Contributions of developmental timing and subtype. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 759–782.
44.
MarshallD. B., & EnglishD. J. (1999). Survival analysis of risk factors for recidivism in child abuse and neglect. Child Maltreatment, 4, 287–296.
45.
MortonN., & BrowneK. D. (1998). Theory and observation of attachment and its relation to child maltreatment: A review. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 1093–1104.
46.
MurphyJ. M., JellinekM., QuinnD., SmithG., PoitrastF. G., & GoshkoM. (1991) Substance abuse and serious child mistreatment: Prevalence, risk, and outcome in a court sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 197–211.
47.
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. (2004). Child maltreatment 2002: Summary of key findings. The Administration for Children and Families. Retrieved January 25, 2004, from http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/factsheets/canstats.cfm.
48.
NelsonK. (1995). The child welfare response to youth violence and homelessness in the nineteenth century. Child Welfare, 74, 56–70.
49.
NelsonK., SaundersE., & LandsmanM. J. (1993). Chronic child neglect in perspective. Social Work, 38, 661–671.
50.
NicholasM. (1994). The mystery of goodness and the positive moral consequences of psychotherapy. New York: W.W. Norton.
51.
O'ConnerS. (2001). Orphan trains: The story of Charles Loring Brace and the children he saved and failed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
52.
Office of Children's Research. (2001). CPS victims by type of abuse/neglect. Olympia, WA: Children's Administration.
53.
PeltonL. H. (1994). The role of material factors in child abuse and neglect. In MeltonG. & BarryF. (Eds.), Protecting children from abuse and neglect (pp. 131–181). New York: Guilford.
54.
PerryB. D. (2001). The neuroarcheology of childhood maltreatment: The neurodevelopmental costs of adverse childhood events. In FraneyK., GeffnerR., & FalconerR. (Eds.), The cost of maltreatment: Who pays? We all do (pp. 15–37). San Diego, CA: Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute.
55.
PerryB. D., & PollardD. (1997). Altered brain development following global neglect in early childhood. Proceedings from Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. New Orleans, LA.
56.
PoertnerJ., McDonaldT. P., & MurrayC. (2000). Child welfare outcomes revisited. Children and Youth Services Review, 22, 789–810.
57.
PolanskyN. A., BorgmanR. D., & DeSaixC. (1972). Roots of futility. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
58.
PolanskyN. A., DeSaixC., & SharlinS. A. (1972). Child neglect: Understanding and reaching the parent—A guide for child welfare workers. Washington DC: CWLA Press.
59.
RoseS. J., & MeezanW. (1996). Variations in perceptions of child neglect. Child Welfare, 75, 139–160.
60.
SedlakA. J., & BroadhurstD. D. (1996). Final report: The third national incidence study of child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
61.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (2001). Assessing the context of permanency and reunification in the foster care system. Washington, DC: Author.
62.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (1999). Blending perspectives and building common ground: A report to Congress on substance abuse and child protection. Washington, DC: Author.
63.
WellsK., & TracyE (1996). Reorienting Intensive Family Preservation Services in Relation to Public Child Welfare Practice. Child Welfare, 75, 667–687.
64.
WilsonD. (1998, Spring). The roots of futility: The CPS response to chronic neglect. The Child Welfare Practice Digest, 20-22.
WulczynF., & BrunnerK (2000). Infants and toddlers in foster care. Protecting Children, 16, 4–11.
67.
ZaslowM. J., HairE. C., DionR., AhluwaliaS. K., SargentJ. (2001). Maternal depressive symptoms and low literacy as potential barriers to employment in a sample of families receiving welfare: Are there two-generational implications? In ? In LennonM. C. (Ed.), Welfare, work and well-being (pp. 211–252). Binghamton, NY: Haworth.
