NCJ Number
105546
Date Published
1984
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Based on research and activities sponsored by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN), this article reviews the scope of the problem of child neglect, relevant demonstration programs and research, and future NCCAN activities regarding child neglect.
Abstract
Child protective services investigations substantiate child neglect twice as often as all forms of child abuse, and child fatalities and injuries are more frequently associated with neglect than abuse. Children in foster care are twice as likely to be neglected as abused, and the substitute placement costs for neglected children may be four times as great as those for abused children. In fiscal 1978, NCCAN, funded 19 demonstration projects that addressed adolescent abuse, sex abuse, child neglect, and remedial services to maltreated children. An evaluation explored client characteristics, services, and outcomes within and between projects. Evaluators concluded that child neglect and emotional maltreatment resulted in far more severe damage to a larger percentage of children than physical or sexual abuse. Two 1981 NCCAN-funded research projects on child neglect examined the characteristics of neglectful and nonneglectful parents and their responses to treatment. Neglectful mothers were socially isolated and tended to withdraw from relationships with professionals. The fiscal 1984 NCCAN grant program gives priority to the testing of innovative program designs and the development of staff training and decisionmaking guidelines that address the problem of child neglect. 2 tables and 11 references.