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Child neglect is a problem that presents many challenges to learning and teaching in schools. Children are unable to learn if their basic needs are not met. Neglect is the second most common reason for a child to be on a child protection plan in Wales. Given the universal nature of their provision within the community, and the prevalence of neglect, schools are well-placed to notice and intervene early and provide support to children that promotes their health and wellbeing. In fact, staff in schools have the opportunity to observe children's behaviours, and their interactions with other pupils and family members up to five days a week over an extended period of time. However, little is known about the specific ways in which staff in schools respond to neglect and what factors help them to provide effective school-based support to families. This paper presents findings from thirty interviews with staff in six mainstream primary and secondary schools in Wales. Findings identify three factors that support neglect-practice within the school-setting (i) a whole-school proactive approach to child neglect; (ii) a positive learning and development environment for staff members; and (iii) relationships between staff and the child(ren)'s family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on addressing the need for empirical data regarding the legal system's responses to child abuse and neglect. Topics include implementation and effectiveness of law enforcement strategies for identifying, investigating, and clearing cases of child maltreatment and child trafficking; and treatment to poor legal outcomes such as involvement in juvenile delinquency or adult criminality.

This paper grants some considerations on a critical phenomenon for child health: child neglect. It is an omission-type form of childhood maltreatment, which is widespread but very hard to intercept. For the assessment of child neglect, the Italian Society of Pediatric Psychology (S.I.P.Ped.) has developed and validated a specific assessment technique (the C.N.A. technique). It is supposed to be for parents of children between 3 and 9 years old. It is based on a paradigm that identifies the dysregulation of parental competence as the cause of neglect. It can occur in hypo- or hyperactivation of three fundamental factors (recognition, stimulation, and care). The child neglect assessment technique (C.N.A.) differs from the retrospective tools available in the literature since it allows for interception of the "signs" of possible child neglect when negligence occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports findings from a study which sought to offer primacy to the voice of the child, using narrative approaches to encourage children and young people to share their lived experiences of neglect. Using a constructivist approach, this paper explores the relationship between the voice of the child and their narrative of neglect. Drawing on the notion of 'family narrative', the discussion examines how children's views are constructed and reconstructed through the process of telling. This research documents that whilst practitioners seek to present the authentic voice of the child, our understanding of 'voice' should be problematized to take account of the fact that it is mediated through a number of filters and lenses. By attending to the voice of the child in the context of their narrative, practitioners may move closer to understanding the lived experience of the individual by exploring feelings, motivations and the myriad of factors which may influence how and for what purpose voice is shared. Engagement with the voice of their child in the context of their narrative, facilitates the development of a social work meta‐narrative to inform effective intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although considerable research exists on Child Neglect (CN), gender-differentiated perceptions that fuel CN are not yet known. In the patriarchal family settings, the perception often held of mothers is that of childcare and fathers as providers. Drawing on interviews with 35 parents reported for CN in post-conflict northern Uganda, this paper explores the gendered triggers of CN and interventions directed at children under CN. The paper uses radical feminism and nested ecological theories to examine gendered perceptions often held about motherhood and fatherhood in relation to childcare and explains the risk factors for CN for caretakers from northern Uganda. Narrative responses were audio-recorded and transcribed. Qualitative content analysis was used to scrutinize parents' perceptions on CN. Parents highlighted triggers for CN as; spousal separation and custody of children, polygamy, disorientation of cultural and social norms and the burden of single parenting. Case reporting and community dialogues were identified as interventions. The paper argues for mainstreaming gender into family and child protection strategies for improved childcare while targeting both fathers and mothers to enhance safety of children. This paper contributes to the debate on CN by bringing out gender perspectives on parents' intentional CN in northern Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Child maltreatment (CM) is global public health issue with devastating lifelong consequences. Global organizations have endeavored to eliminate CM; however, there is lack of consensus on what instruments are most suitable for the investigation and prevention of CM. This systematic review aimed to appraise the psychometric properties (other than content validity) of all current parent- or caregiver-reported CM instruments and recommend the most suitable for use. Method: A systematic search of the CINAHL, Embase, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Sociological Abstracts databases was performed. The evaluation of psychometric properties was conducted according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines for systematic reviews of patient-report outcome measures. Responsiveness was beyond the scope of this systematic review, and content validity has been reported on in a companion paper (Part 1). Only instruments developed and published in English were included. Results: Twenty-five studies reported on selected psychometric properties of 15 identified instruments. The methodological quality of the studies was overall adequate. The psychometric properties of the instruments were generally indeterminate or not reported due to incomplete or missing psychometric data; high-quality evidence on the psychometric properties was limited. Conclusions: No instruments could be recommended as most suitable for use in clinic and research. Nine instruments were identified as promising based on current psychometric data but would need further psychometric evidence for them to be recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child neglect is a significant concern for Aboriginal families and communities both in Australia and internationally. Service responses to child neglect are largely informed by child neglect theories, which explain the nature and causes of child neglect. However, child neglect is a problem that is worsening for Aboriginal children, suggesting that these theories are not appropriate. This paper argues that to meet the needs of Aboriginal families and communities where there is child neglect, policy and practice needs to acknowledge and address the impact of trauma in shaping the lived experiences of Aboriginal people. International literature discusses the impact and consequence of historical trauma within Indigenous families and communities, and separately, child maltreatment theorists have discussed the ecological nature of child neglect. However, the literature and evidence‐base linking the two, child neglect and historical trauma in Indigenous contexts, are very scant. This paper aims to fill this gap and emphasize the importance of addressing child neglect within Aboriginal families and communities in the context of historical trauma. Although this paper focuses on the post‐colonial experiences of Aboriginal people in Australia, the arguments can extend to many Indigenous cultures universally where child welfare interventions have resulted in significant and ongoing trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will examine the relationship between social control of deviance, ethical principles and social work. I will address this issue by adopting a specific social work theoretical perspective, that of "critical social work". In this article a specific phase of social workers' control of deviance in social work will be examined: the phase in which they collect information through specific fact-finding modalities, in order to decide whether, and in what way, social services will intervene. I chose a specific aspect of social work with involuntary clients to develop my analysis: child protection. I will organize my analysis in two parts. In the first part I will tackle the issue of social control in social work. I will subsequently analyze two theoretical paradigms (Positivism and Constructionism) within which child neglect and abuse are conceptualized and operationalized. In the second part, I will examine a case study, the story of a drug-addicted mother who had one of her children removed, with the aim of highlighting how the paradigm that guides fact-finding activity on a given phenomenon can influence the forms in which social control is exercised, favoring or hindering anti-oppressive practices. The analysis of mother's story shows how the positivist framework applied by the social workers in the decision to remove her child, affected the form in which power and social control was exercised, favoring the transition from protective power to oppressive power. The categorization of clients, aimed at the identification of the risks children run in their family contexts, may reduce social workers' activity to pure control of family life in an "antagonistic role" to their clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the oral health needs of children who have, or are suspected of having, experienced abuse or neglect has become a focus of concern. It is thus valuable and timely to map the contemporary nature of the research landscape in this expanding field. This review reports the findings of a scoping review of the international empirical literature. The aim was to explore the relationship between child maltreatment and oral health and how this complex issue is addressed in contemporary dental, health, and social work practice. The review identified 68 papers, analysis of which identified three themes: (1) There is a relationship between poor oral health and child maltreatment that is well evidenced but conceptually underdeveloped. (2) There are discrepancies between the knowledge of members of the dental team about child maltreatment and their confidence and aptitude to identify and report child protection concerns. (3) There are areas of local-level policy and practice development that seek to improve working relationships between dentists and health and social work practitioners; however, there is widespread evidence that the oral health needs of this group of vulnerable children are not consistently met. To orientate critical discussion and planning for future research and practice, we present the Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations (PAGER) framework. The review's findings are likely to be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers working across dentistry, health and social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for human services unfold within complicated social and organizational circumstances and are influenced by the attitudes and behaviors of diverse stakeholders situated within these environments. Coaching is commonly regarded as an effective strategy to support service providers in delivering EBIs and attaining high levels of fidelity over time. The purpose of this paper is to address a lacuna in research examining the factors influencing coaching, an important EBI support component.Design/methodology/approach The authors use the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment framework to consider inner- and outer-context factors that affect coaching over time. This case study of coaching draws from a larger qualitative data set from three iterative investigations of implementation and sustainment of a home visitation program, SafeCare®. SafeCare is an EBI designed to reduce child neglect.Findings The authors elaborate on six major categories of findings derived from an iterative data coding and analysis process: perceptions of “good” and “bad” coaches by system sustainment status; coach as peer; in-house coaching capacity; intervention developer requirements vs other outer-context needs; outer-context support; and inner-context support.Practical implications Coaching is considered a key component for effective implementation of EBIs in public-sector systems, yet is under-studied. Understanding inner- and outer-context factors illuminates the ways they affect the capacity of coaches to support service delivery.Originality/value This paper demonstrates that coaching can accomplish more than provision of EBI fidelity support. Stakeholders characterized coaches as operating as boundary spanners who link inner and outer contexts to enable EBI implementation and sustainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The working relationship is considered a central feature of direct practice with human services clients. There are many challenges when it comes time to end a working relationship, yet limited guidance for workers on successful relationship ending. This paper aims to increase understanding of the process of the ending phase of the working relationship for parents and workers working with families where child neglect is an issue. The paper draws on data from a small-scale qualitative Australian study of perceptions of parents, family workers, and supervisors involved in eight parent-worker relationships. Using semistructured interviews, participants were asked to explore how they experienced the relationship. The findings illuminate important aspects about the ending phase of the relationship; in particular, challenging the idea that parents' returning to services for support is a sign that the service has not provided a successful intervention. The paper challenges social workers to consider recurring parent-worker relationships similar to other professional relationships where there are episodes of service but the relationship is there to be reactivated where needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Multiple, chronic and repeated trauma exposure in childhood is associated with adverse mental health outcomes in adulthood. In this paper we synthesise the literature on epigenetic modifications in childhood trauma (CT) and the mediating effects of differential epigenetic mechanisms on the association between CT and the later onset of psychiatric disorders. Methods: We reviewed the literature up to March 2018 in four databases: PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost and SCOPUS. Non-human studies were excluded. All studies investigating CT exposure both in healthy adults (18years and older) and adults with psychiatric disorders were included. Results: Thirty-six publications were included. For mood disorders, methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor NR3C1 gene, specifically at the NGFI-A binding site in exon 1F, and correlation with CT was a robust finding. Several studies documented differential methylation of SLC6A4, BDNF, OXTR and FKBP5 in association with CT. Common pathways identified include neuronal functioning and maintenance, immune and inflammatory processes, chromatin and histone modification, and transcription factor binding. Conclusions: A variety of epigenetic mediators that lie on a common pathway between CT and psychiatric disorders have been identified, although longitudinal studies and consistency in methodological approach are needed to disentangle cause and effect associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child neglect is the most prevalent type of child maltreatment. Research has shown that its sequelae can be more harmful than physical or sexual abuse, particularly at early ages, supporting the importance of preventive and early interventions. This paper presents the results of the first pilot implementation in Spain of SafeCare, a home visiting evidence-based programme for the prevention and treatment of child neglect in families with children aged 0-5 years old. Method: Between 2014 and 2017, 89 families were referred from Child Protection Services of Gipuzkoa and San Sebastian to SafeCare. Of these, 46 finished the programme. Parenting skills, depressive symptomatology, child abuse potential, parental stress, and child behavioural problems were measured at baseline and after treatment. Parental satisfaction with the programme was evaluated after treatment. Results: High levels of pa rental sat isfact ion, significant improvements in parenting skills, and significant decreases in child abuse potential, parental stress, and perception of child behavioural problems were found after treatment. Conclusions: Findings suggested that SafeCare can be useful for families with early signs of child neglect. The study also confi rmed the feasibi l ity of implementing such an evidence based programme in Child Protective Services in Spain. More studies with larger samples and experimental designs are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify the types of adaptations made by service providers (i.e. practitioners) during a large-scale US statewide implementation of SafeCare®, an evidence-based intervention to reduce child neglect; and second, to place adaptations within a taxonomy of types of adaptations. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 138 SafeCare providers and supervisors. Grounded theory methods were used to identify themes, specific types of adaptations and factors associated with adaptation. Findings: Adaptations were made to both peripheral and core elements of the evidence-based practice (EBP). The taxonomy of adaptations included two broad categories of process and content. Process adaptations included presentation of materials, dosage/intensity of sessions, order of presentation, addressing urgent concerns before focusing on the EBP and supplementing information to model materials. Content adaptations included excluding parts of the EBP and overemphasizing certain aspects of the EBP. Adaptations were motivated by client factors such as the age of the target child, provider factors such as a providers' level of self-efficacy with the EBP and concerns over client/provider rapport. Client factors were paramount in motivating adaptations of all kinds. Research limitations/implications: The present findings highlight the need to examine ways in which adaptations affect EBP implementation and sustainment, client engagement in treatment, and client outcomes. Practical implications: Implementers and EBP developers and trainers should build flexibility into their models while safeguarding core intervention elements that drive positive client outcomes. Originality/value: This study is unique in examining and enumerating both process and content types of adaptations in a large-scale child neglect implementation study. In addition, such adaptations may be generalizable to other types of EBPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having contact with each other is one of the most fundamental aspects of the parental- filial relationship. When it comes to this very fundamental aspect of the relationship, an incongruence is apparent: parents have a prima facie right to have contact with their children; children do not have a corresponding right to have contact with their parents. A parent, at least in England, can disconnect entirely from the life of his/ her children. This paper argues that this may make certain forms of child neglect de facto lawful. This paper also draws a parallel between parental denial of contact and parental child abduction, and argues that there are important similarities between the two, so far overlooked by the literature on child maltreatment. This paper concludes that if parents have a right to have contact with their children, then in principle children should also have a right to have contact with their parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective working relationships are those which are characterised by close personal contact, even friendship-like in nature, contained within professional boundaries. However, such personal ways of working remain a contentious aspect of professional relationships. Indeed, workers operating in this way commonly experience disapproval from colleagues. Guidance regarding how workers build personalised professional relationships while operating in a disapproving environment is limited. This is even more pronounced for building relationships with families where child neglect is an issue. This paper draws on a study of perceptions of eight parent–family worker relationship cases in New South Wales, Australia. The study utilised qualitative research methods to analyse and compare participants' perceptions of the experiences and meaning of working relationships with families where child neglect is an issue. The paper will explore how the workers' use of friendship-like characteristics to build highly personalised, yet professional and ethical, relationships created discord with some colleagues, including accusations of unprofessional and unethical practice. Drawing on these workers' experiences, along with literature that challenges traditional ways of working with clients, it will be argued that dominant ideas about ethical and professional practice hinder the development of effective relationships with clients, create unnecessary stress for workers, and should be challenged. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many children are repeatedly reported to statutory child protection services, but do not receive the protection they need. Many such children are suffering chronic maltreatment, which is likely to result in cumulative harm. Chronic maltreatment encompasses emotional abuse and chronic neglect. As a result, children can experience a range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural problems that are more serious than those associated with other abuse types. This paper focuses on the Victorian statutory child protection system, and considers why cumulative harm is not receiving the attention the legislation intends. Under the Victorian legislation cumulative harm must be proven on grounds of emotional abuse and/or neglect. However, it is difficult for child protection practitioners to place before the court the necessary evidence to establish these grounds. The paper concludes that the legal definitions of emotional abuse and neglect should not require evidence of a link between the abusive actions of the parent and the poor outcomes for the child. The evidentiary focus should be on the actions of the parent. Furthermore, legislation should focus on abusive parental behaviours that are likely to result in cumulative harm, which are more concrete and measureable than emotional abuse and neglect, such as intimate partner violence and parental illicit drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explored a relational practice approach with parents whose children have been removed into out-of-home care. Where these parents commonly experience practitioners as intimidating and unsupportive, the case studies of two families provides an alternative, arguably more care-centred, approach to working with parents. The paper discusses this alternative in light of ethical social work concepts. Findings suggest positive outcomes for parents and children alike when parents and workers engage using a relational approach where care is the central feature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents with substance use disorders (SUD) require treatment and support in order to provide children with appropriate care and protection. Using the 2012 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), this paper analysed 464 313 substantiated child maltreatment reports to determine (i) the proportion and characteristics of reports involving substance abuse; and (ii) the child and caregiver/perpetrator (C/P) characteristics that predicted referral to treatment as recorded in service plans. Findings indicate that 12% ( N = 53 234) of maltreatment reports involved C/P SUD. Yet, of those reports, only (19%) ( N = 10 088) were referred to substance abuse treatment as part of their service plan, indicating a large gap between those who need treatment and those who receive it. This finding is important given that parental SUD is consistently linked to poorer child outcomes. Amongst other variables, reports indicate that C/P with co-occurring emotional disturbance were three times more likely to be referred to treatment for SUD as part of service plans. Additional research is needed regarding the characteristics that distinguish C/P who receive referrals for SUD treatment in substantiated cases of child maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Current child protective service policies encourage family preservation and reunification. Yet little is known about how mothers accused of child neglect experience being labeled neglectful or how this influences compliance with child protective services (CPS) service plans. This paper reports the results of a case study of mothers'' perceptions of being labeled neglectful. Drawing on symbolic interactionist theories of identity, interviews with sixteen mothers and sixteen child protective service caseworkers, and content analysis of interview data obtained, this paper describes the strategies mothers employ to resist the stigma of being labeled a neglectful mother, strategies that ultimately put them at odds with child protection goals. Findings suggest that mothers'' identity preservation and maintenance have powerful implications for CPS policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper discusses the dilemmas and challenges that arise when child neglect cases reach such a level of severity that court proceedings become necessary. It identifies the complexities of determining the appropriate social work and legal responses to child neglect, and of squaring these with wider organisational priorities and social policy imperatives. The paper draws on data from a series of interviews with local authority social work and legal staff. It highlights the ‘threshold criteria’ for the court's intervention, barriers to crossing them in neglect cases and the frequent need for a decisive event (a ‘catapult’) to do so. It shows the conflicts and tensions of reconciling social work and legal approaches, but also the overlaps and inter-dependency between them. Despite the difficulties, the way forward lies in the interaction of different professional perspectives and skills, in ways that are both critical and supportive. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although child neglect is arguably the most prevalent form of maltreatment in the western world, studies of social work practice in cases of child neglect are limited. This paper seeks to add to the body of knowledge by describing a small-scale study completed in the Republic of Ireland of social work assessments in cases of child neglect. The findings are based primarily on an analysis of case files, but reference is also made to practitioners’ and managers’ responses to a postal questionnaire and focus groups. The study findings highlight that social workers interpret the assessment task and process in different ways. Variations in the interpretation of the task appear to be influenced by workload pressures, resources and local systems, with teams focusing either on immediate safeguarding issues or on both safeguarding and the longer-term welfare of the child. Individual variations amongst workers irrespective of team were more apparent in the way practitioners approached the assessment task. For example, practice varied regarding which professionals and family members were contacted as part of the assessment, the type of communication workers had with children and carers, and the use the social workers made of information on case files. The paper concludes with a discussion of the role of the team in determining the focus of assessments and the subjective factors which impact on the way the individual social worker works with children, families and other professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on physical and emotional neglect from a social work perspective. Neglect is the highest category of registration on Child Protection Registers in England, and is therefore a significant preoccupation for social work. However, historically, social workers have found child neglect a difficult area of practice. In this paper, we suggest that neglect is best understood as an absence of care, that is, a breakdown in the relationship between the primary carer and child which results in difficulties in offering reliable and adequate care. One focus of assessment in cases of child neglect, therefore, needs to be on ascertaining the nature and degree of relationship failure. We set out a framework to inform such assessments which critically examines the relationship between primary carer and child/ren. We note that discussion of neglect often involves criticism of women/mothers, and seek to develop an approach to child neglect which challenges stereotypical ideas about gender and caring, ideas which can lead to inappropriate intervention and to mother-blaming. Consideration is given to operationalizing this framework of ideas. Intentional, structured observation is identified as a particularly useful tool in accurately assessing the complexities of the mother– child relationship, and the discussion considers observation's contribution to the assessment of neglect at a number of different levels. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a substantial body of research examining the relationship between child maltreatment and externalizing, antisocial, and criminal behavior problems, theory is rarely applied in the current empirical research literature. The lack of theoretical application limits opportunities to understand the mechanisms explaining why maltreatment is associated with behavior problems, and the best strategies for intervening to interrupt this association. The purpose of this paper is to analyze relevant theoretical perspectives and develop a conceptual model explaining the relationship between maltreatment and behavior problems, and the intervening role of child welfare services. Six theoretical perspectives were selected for analysis: the ecological model, the transactional model, attachment theory, the life course perspective, the social learning perspective, and social–biological models. After applying these theories to understanding the maltreatment–behavior problem association and the role of child welfare services in intervening, insights from these theories were synthesized into a conceptual model. The policy and practice implications of this model are discussed, with a focus on the implications for child welfare workers, administrators, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in child maltreatment research has been growing in the last two decades. The main approach underlying this research has relied upon self and family reports. These methods may be problematic because they often require conscious awareness, generate socially desirable over accurate responses or can be biased by parents' unrealistic expectations, misattributions and perceptual errors. Simultaneously, research has been adapting methods from social cognition research in an attempt to access the implicit and spontaneous processes underlying the information processing related to parent–child interactions, exploring parental cognitions and emotions that may constitute important contributions to explain abusive and neglectful parenting. In this paper we review the research on child abuse and neglect using implicit measures. Using combinations of words related with child abuse and neglect, and with autonomic and affective variables assessed by the implicit measures, we have conducted a systematic review of 33 studies, and we examined the variables explored, the type of measures used and the results obtained. The research reviewed points out the importance of assessing parental representations in parent–child interactions and analyzing the differences between maltreating and non-maltreating parents. Specifically, physically abusive parents tend to show more difficulties in recognizing children's emotions, reveal more biases in their perceptions and attributions about children and behave more aggressively. Further research with maltreating parents, namely neglectful, using implicit measures is still required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper (Part I) and its companion paper (Part II) provide an overview of the primary prevention of child maltreatment. Part I reviews the effectiveness of interventions aimed at the primary prevention of child physical abuse and neglect. Prospective controlled trials published between January 1979 and May 1993 were systematically identified. The quality of each study was determined using criteria which assessed methodological rigor. Interventions aimed at the prevention of physical abuse and neglect were classified into six main categories within the broad group of perinatal and early childhood programs. While many of these programs did not show a reduction in physical abuse or neglect, there is evidence that extended home visitation can prevent physical abuse and neglect among disadvantaged families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some of the key findings of a study investigating the introduction of the Graded Care Profile (GCP) - a tool used in the assessment of child neglect - in one Scottish local authority where neglect is the primary reason for which nearly half of all children are placed on the Child Protection Register. The findings suggest that while there are some advantages to the use of the GCP there are also a number of significant questions about previous claims made about its objectivity and value-neutrality, its user-friendliness and its ability to generate good partnership working with parents, particularly where there are substantive disagreements about the quality of care. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages: The GCP is used to identify and respond to neglect., This study examined the perspectives of parents and practitioners about the GCP in one Scottish area., It found a favourable response to the way that the GCP breaks down the parenting task into more specific areas., Identified difficulties included the abstract language in the GCP and positive parental engagement where there were substantive disagreements about the quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of reported child maltreatment nearly doubled in Canada over the period 1998–2003, an increase that reflects growing awareness of the harmful effects of an expanding array of parental behaviors, including corporal punishment, lack of supervision, and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). Some of these situations may benefit from voluntary family support programs outside of the child welfare system. Analyzing a sample of 11,807 investigations, this paper compares cases where the sole concern is exposure to IPV, or hitting a child, or neglect, or other forms of investigated maltreatment. Situations where exposure to IPV or potentially abusive hitting were the sole reason for investigation presented with fewer risk factors and were less likely to lead to ongoing child welfare interventions compared to other maltreatment investigations. While situations involving alleged neglect presented a higher risk profile and elicited a more intensive child welfare response than did exposure to IPV or hitting, opportunities for alternative services were nevertheless identified. The study also found that visible minority families were overrepresented in cases involving hitting and that Aboriginal families were overrepresented in cases involving neglect. Overall the findings support the development of alternative response programs in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract This paper presents a case of an emotionally deprived child with some evidence of child neglect resulting from separation of parents (maternal deprivation). It also further confirms the long recognized fact that the most successful treatment of growth failure and weight loss due to psychosocial deprivation is restoration of a normal social environment. In particular, it highlights the need for a high index of suspicion and awareness on the part of medical personnel with regard to emotional disorders in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Children who have exposure to child sexual abuse (CSA) are at particular risk for developing substance abuse in adolescence, but the extent to which CSA may shape patterns of adolescent substance use remains uncertain. The aim of this paper is to characterize the variations in patterns of adolescent substance use and to examine the association between CSA and qualitatively distinct patterns of adolescent substance use. Latent class analyses identified homogenous groups of adolescents with similar patterns of substance use using a sample of 1019 adolescents (mean age: 15.9 years; range: 13–18) who were selected from five publicly funded service systems. Different patterns of latent class structures were identified in boys and girls (a 4-class solution for girls and a 3-class solution for boys). CSA was associated with an increased risk of being a heavy polysubstance user in girls, even after adjustment of age, race/ethnicity, parental substance use, sibling use, peer use, psychopathology and other forms of childhood maltreatment including physical abuse and neglect. Findings indicate that female victims of CSA who are involved with public service systems are at high risk for developing multiple-substance use in adolescence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to describe characteristics associated with maltreatment types in children referred to the child protection team at the University Children's Hospital Zürich. Since 2003, the child protection team has registered data on each case in a standardized form.Methods: To examine differences in gender, age, nationality, and socioeconomic status by type of maltreatment, regression analyses were conducted for the 1,484 cases that were referred from 2003 to 2006.Results: The most common types of referred maltreatment were sexual (38%) and physical maltreatment (31%) with mean ages of 8.4 and 7 years, respectively. Compared to physical maltreatment, where gender distribution was equal, there was a higher risk for girls to become victims of sexual maltreatment. Younger children were at higher risk for neglect (mean age 5 years). Low socioeconomic status increased the risk for physical as compared to sexual maltreatment. However, whether the child was of Swiss or of foreign nationality was not associated with an increased risk for any type of maltreatment when controlling for socioeconomic status.Conclusion: As this study is one of a few to analyze characteristics in child maltreatment referred to a hospital child protection team, further research is needed. To improve international comparability, thorough documentation of the cases is encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper examined the relative influence of clinical and organizational characteristics on the decision to place a child in out-of-home care at the conclusion of a child maltreatment investigation. It tested the hypothesis that extraneous factors, specifically, organizational characteristics, impact the decision to place a child in out-of-home care. A secondary aim was to identify possible decision making influences related to disparities in placement decisions tied to Aboriginal children. Research suggests that the Aboriginal status of the child and structural risk factors affecting the family, such as poverty and poor housing, substantially account for this overrepresentation. Methods: The decision to place a child in out-of-home care was examined using data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect. This child welfare dataset collected information about the results of nearly 5,000 child maltreatment investigations as well as a description of the characteristics of the workers and organization responsible for conducting those investigations. Multi-level statistical models were developed using MPlus software, which can accommodate dichotomous outcome variables, which are more reflective of decision making in child welfare. Mplus allows the specific case of the logistic link function for binary outcome variables under maximum likelihood estimation. Results: Final models revealed the importance of the number of Aboriginal reports to an organization as a key second level predictor of the placement decision. It is the only second level factor that remains in the final model. This finding was very stable when tested over several different levels of proportionate caseload representation ranging from greater than 50% to 20% of the caseload. Conclusions: Disparities among Aboriginal children in child welfare decision making were identified at the agency level. Practice implications: The study provides additional evidence supporting the possibility that one source of overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian foster care system is a lack of appropriate resources at the agency or community level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To describe the outcome of referral to the statutory authorities for infants under 2 years with non-accidental head injury (NAHI), and to establish whether the authorities held sufficient information to develop a risk profile for these cases. Methods: Retrospective review of cases admitted to hospital in Auckland, New Zealand from 1988 to 1998. Records from the hospital admission, child protective services and Police were reviewed, up to 19 years from diagnosis. Results: Of 39 infants, 33 survived to leave hospital. Documentation of risk factors was erratic, and sometimes incongruent between agencies. Inter-agency case conferences took place in 17/39 (44%). The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (CYF) used an informal family agreement to secure safety in 15/33 survivors (45%). Family Group Conferences occurred in 17/33 (52%). Nine of 33 were placed permanently outside the home (27%), two (6%) with unrelated caregivers. Charges were laid in 18/39 cases (46%). Fifteen cases came to trial, with 14 convictions (36%). Of the survivors, 44% were later renotified to CYF. There was no obvious relationship between type of intervention and re-notification. Conclusions: Ensuring the safety of an infant with NAHI, and identifying and taking appropriate action with regard to the offender, are complex tasks. In New Zealand, data collection is often incomplete and inter-agency practice and collaboration is variable. Although the rate of prosecution was relatively high by international standards, many children were later notified again for further concerns of abuse or neglect, suggesting that our interventions have been only partially successful. Practice implications: This paper suggests that all infants admitted to hospital with non-accidental head injury should become part of a prospective inter-agency research study, using a standardised data collection instrument. This should include the systematic collection of all data known or suspected to be associated with risk of child abuse, and incorporate long-term prospective follow-up, regardless of child protective or legal outcomes. Without large numbers followed prospectively and according to sound methodology, it is difficult to prove which forms of intervention are better than others at reducing the risk of further abuse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reviews the literature on child neglect with respect to child outcomes, prevention and intervention, and implications for policy. First, the prevalence of the problem is discussed and then potential negative outcomes for neglected children, including behavior problems, low self-esteem, poor school performance, and maladjustment/psychopathology, are discussed. Risk factors and current child neglect interventions are then reviewed. Popular family support programs, such as family preservation, have mixed success rates for preventing child neglect. The successes and shortcomings of other programs are also examined with a focus on implications for future research and policy. Overall, the research supports a multidisciplinary approach to assessment, intervention, and research on child neglect. Furthermore, the need for a combined effort among parents, community members, professionals, and policymakers to increase awareness and prevention endeavors is discussed. Targeted attempts to educate all involved parties should focus on early intervention during specific encounters with at-risk families via medical settings, school settings, and parent education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Child neglect is the most common type of child maltreatment in the United States. However, services provided to families who neglect often fail to address and treat the primary concerns associated with child neglect. The information provided in this paper identifies the primary problems contributing to child neglect, and some promising practices in child welfare casework that address these problems and show positive outcomes for the children and families who experience child neglect. Knowledge pertaining to assessment skills, treatment abilities, and model programmes is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families is guidance introduced by the Department of Health in England to improve assessment practice and promote better outcomes for children and their families. This paper considers ways in which the Assessment Framework can improve assessment practice in cases of child neglect. However, as with any national guidance, its effectiveness is dependent on local approaches to implementation. The author has undertaken practice development work around implementation with senior managers and frontline staff in area child protection committees (ACPCs) and social services departments. These experiences are used to explore the local issues and tensions encountered by both practitioners and managers responsible for implementing the Assessment Framework. An argument is made that these issues and tensions if not addressed can result in distorted assessments that lose the focus on the child. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment and decision-making in complex cases of child abuse and neglect is a difficult and taxing process. Although social workers have become increasingly good at collecting information, often under the direction of agency checklists and manuals, there is less confidence in knowing how to make sense of that information for purposes of assessment and decision-making. Theories help organize knowledge and attachment theory is proving to be a powerful player in helping practitioners make sense of what they know. The paper outlines the basic tenets of attachment theory. When adapted to the context of social work, a key principle of an attachment-based practice is the recognition that young children develop a range of adaptive strategies that are designed to help them cope with, survive, and function in whatever caregiving environment they happen to find themselves, including ones in which there is abuse and neglect. Although these strategies are functional within the context of adverse caregiving environments, they carry the risk of children suffering a variety of developmental impairments and failure to develop social competence. A case is described in which there are elements of abuse and neglect both within and across the generations. An attachment perspective is used to analyse and assess the quality and character of parenting and the different adaptive strategies developed by each child in the caregiving context in which they have found themselves. The assessment is then used to inform the decision whether or not to leave the children in the care of their mother or to place them with a long-term substitute family, with or without contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper reports data testing two alternative hypotheses: (1) the relationship between child sexual abuse and subsequent parenting attitudes and behaviors is a function of the third variable, growing up experiences other than CSA; and (2) maternal depression mediates the relationship between CSA and the same parenting variables. Method: The current study was a retrospective survey of 516 very low-income, urban mothers. Parenting was assessed with three measures: The Parenting Competence Scale and the verbal and severe violence subscales of the Conflict Tactics Scale. Results: Findings for two of the dependent variables, perceived parenting competence and severe violence, supported the third variable hypothesis. The mediational hypothesis was not supported for any of the parenting indicators. Conclusions: Findings regarding the third variable hypothesis are discrepant from those of the one earlier study that tested this hypothesis, suggesting that before conclusions can be drawn regarding the effect of CSA on parenting further research is in order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To review the current research literature on resilience to maltreatment in childhood and adolescence. Method: First, this paper addresses the methodological issues applicable to this area of research. Second, it reviews the empirical literature on the protective factors believed to contribute to resilience to maltreatment and offers commentary on specific issues raised in each study. Results: The current findings are summarized and an integrated descriptive picture, based on the extant literature of the processes and factors contributing to the development of resilience to childhood maltreatment is outlined. Conclusion: Based on this extensive review and critique of the current empirical literature on resilience to maltreatment, suggestions for future investigations in this area are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) is the only source of province-wide statistics on families investigated by child welfare. This paper presents key findings from the 2018 cycle of the OIS (OIS-2018) and highlights select policy and practice implications of these findings. The OIS-2018 captured information directly from investigating child protection workers about children and families who were the subject of a child protection investigation sampled for inclusion in the study. The OIS-2018 sample was drawn in three stages: first, a representative sample of child welfare agencies in Ontario was selected, then cases were sampled over a three-month period within selected agencies, and, finally, investigations that met the study criteria were identified from the sampled cases. The data collected for the OIS-2018 were weighted in order to derive provincial, annual incidence estimates. An estimated 158,476 child maltreatment-related investigations were conducted in Ontario in 2018. In the majority of investigations, there was no documented physical or emotional harm to the child. The overall incidence of investigations remains unchanged between 2008 and 2018. The only statistically significant difference during this time period is an increase in risk investigations between 2013 and 2018. Data from the OIS gives Ontario child welfare policymakers and practitioners an empirical basis for making evidence-informed decisions. Findings are compared to the United States and Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Personal and professional experiences influence understandings of supervisory neglect. • Importance of culture, personal experiences, and self-awareness in decision-making. • Reconciling professional and personal dimensions for ethical decision-making. This paper addresses how personal and professional values and experiences of professionals working with children and families from diverse cultural backgrounds interweave in their understanding of (in)adequate child supervision and how this influences their decision-making around supervisory neglect. Eleven focus group discussions involving 67 service providers were held in two of the largest cities in the province of Quebec, Canada. Participants were recruited through public school boards, municipal police agencies, child protection agencies, and health and social services. Service providers who were recruited to offer their professional perspective on children's supervision, responded with examples from both their professional and personal contexts. Whereas personal examples, including those related to culture, were used to qualify, contextualize, deepen analysis, and better assess the boundaries of a supervisory situation, professional examples were used to refer to the legal sphere. Besides using professional decision-making tools, service providers could benefit from incorporating their personal experiences to advance reflection about supervisory neglect and from reconciling their professional and personal dimensions for more ethical decision-making in this field. The latter would require clinical (not just administrative) support, a good network of colleagues, and training. Seeking depth and sensitivity beyond what structured decision grids allow is particularly needed in ethnoculturally diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child maltreatment has long-lasting negative impacts, and interventions are needed to improve caregiver's parenting skills to prevent maltreatment. This paper reports on a randomized trial comparing the SafeCare© model to services as usual (SAU) for child-welfare referred caregivers. SafeCare is an 18-session behavioral parenting program that teaches skills in positive parent-child interactions, home safety, and child health. SAU is generally unstructured and includes support, crisis management, referrals for need, and parenting education. Teams of providers at nine sites were randomized to implement SafeCare (19 teams; 119 providers) or continue SAU (17 teams; 118 providers). Two-hundred eighty eight caregivers (193 SafeCare; 95 SAU) with children aged 0-5 who were receiving services agreed to complete a baseline and 6-month assessment. Assessments measured positive parenting behaviors, parenting stress, protective factors, and neglectful behaviors using validated scales. Participants were primarily white (74.6%), female (87.0%), and low-income (68.6%), and had a mean age of 29. Latent change score models (LCSM) using a sandwich estimator consistent with the trial design were used to examine changes in 13 outcomes. Results indicated that SafeCare had small to medium effects for improving several parenting outcomes including supporting positive child behaviors (d = 0.46), proactive parenting (d = 0.25), and two aspects of parenting stress (d = 0.28 and .30). No differential change between groups was found for other indicators, including all indicators of neglect. Parenting programs such as SafeCare offer a promising mode of intervention for child welfare systems. Scale-up of parenting programs can improve parenting, improve child outcomes, and potentially reduce maltreatment. CLINICALTRIAL.GOV REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02549287. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neglect is a type of child abuse that leads to a variety of consequences on child development. Although neglect is present in any social class, a lot of parents that live in poverty are not negligent; but poverty has many characteristics that contribute to the presence of neglect. Considering the importance of preventing and better understanding neglect, the present paper aims to describe and discuss similarities and differences among negligent families, comparing them to other families in terms of socioeconomic aspects and risk factors related to neglect. A total of 90 parents of children aged 6–8 years participated in the data collection. They were divided into three groups: (1) 30 caregivers of substantiated cases of child neglect from Child Protection Services; (2) 30 caregivers of suspected cases of child neglect based on teachers' observations, but that were not notified to Child Protection Services; and (3) 30 caregivers of children who were not suspected of child neglect. All participants were interviewed. Results showed that poverty is not a determining factor for neglect, but it presents a highly favorable context for neglect to be expressed. Considering participant's working status, group 1 showed a significant difference (p-value = 0,003) when compared with groups 2 and 3. In groups 2 and 3, most participants worked (53% and 67%), but in group 1 the majority were unemployed. When comparing the groups in relation to educational years, it was noted that groups 1 and 2 were equivalent (average of 4,5 and 5,1 respectively), and significant different (p = 0,001) from group 3 (average of 9,4 years). Considering the social support provided for mothers after their first child was born, 70% of mothers from group 3, 26,7% of mothers from group 2 and 30% from group 1 had support. When comparing the three groups, there were statistical differences (p-valor = 0,001) between group 3 and groups 1 and 2. As for alcohol abuse, groups 1 and 2 had similar results (30% group 1 and 20% group 2) and the groups were statistically different (p-valor = 0,003) from group 3 (0%), indicating that, although they were a minority, there were participants from groups 1 and 2 consuming alcohol. No participant declared to use drugs. Although they live in the same neighborhoods and study in the same schools as do the reference group, groups of children suspected of being neglected had less favorable economic conditions, and their caregivers had fewer years of education and less specialized employment. Presence of risk factors and lack of social support favor the occurrence of child neglect. According to the results obtained by the present study, we must also point out that the condition of poverty is not a determining factor for neglect, but it is presented as a highly favorable context for the expression of neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health problems in parents have been identified as a risk factor for child maltreatment. The perinatal period (from conception to 1 year) is a critical period but it is unclear whether perinatal mental health problems are also associated with increased risk. To review evidence on perinatal mental health and risk of child maltreatment. Searches were conducted on six databases and 24 studies reported in 30 papers identified. Studies were conducted in seven countries, mainly the USA (n = 14). Sample sizes ranged from 48-14,893 and most examined mothers (n = 17). Studies were conducted in community (n = 17) or high-risk (n = 7) samples. The majority of studies found a relationship between parental perinatal mental health problems and risk of child maltreatment, but inconsistent findings were observed between and within studies. The few studies that examined fathers (n = 6) all found a relationship between fathers' mental health and risk of child maltreatment. Meta-analysis of 17 studies (n = 22,042) showed perinatal mental health problems increased risk of child maltreatment by OR 3.04 (95% CI 2.29–4.03). This relationship was moderated by type of sample, with larger effects for risk of child maltreatment in high-risk samples. The relationship was not moderated by type of mental illness, child maltreatment; methodological or measurement factors. The association between perinatal mental health and risk of child maltreatment is similar to that observed at other times during childhood. Methodological heterogeneity and inconsistent findings mean conclusions are tentative and need to be considered alongside other individual, family and social/cultural risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]