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Poverty among individuals is an enduring condition in almost all societies. The responses by governments to poverty, however, have varied. In the United States, President Lyndon Johnson sought to address poverty through the creation of the Great Society programs in the 1960s. In effect, he declared a War on Poverty. Later, especially during the Republicans' takeover of the government in the 1980s, another initiative used to address poverty was to use increasingly American social institutions--volunteer organizations and correctional institutions. President Reagan declared a War on Drugs. Simply, prisons, both adult and juvenile, became a primary tool for controlling people in poverty. America went from a War on Poverty to a War on Drugs, ensnaring many African Americans within the criminal justice system with an ensuing impact on African American children. While the child welfare system has long taken poor children out of their homes, the juvenile justice system has done so too. Often, family courts handle both neglected children and delinquent or unruly children, and often poor African American children are disproportionately affected in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Black's theory of law is provided to aid in the understanding of African American children in both systems. In sum, this paper discusses the impact of poverty on African American children in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

As support for intervening early in the lives of vulnerable children has risen in the United States in recent years, so has interest in home-visitation programs. Home visitation is increasingly recognized for its potential to foster early child development and competent parenting, as well as to reduce risk for child abuse and neglect and other poor outcomes for vulnerable families. This paper provides a discussion of several aspects of home-visitation programs that warrant further development and evaluation, including the powerful role of context in determining program outcomes, as well as the impact of other factors, including service dosage, levels of family engagement, and characteristics of home visitors. The importance of more accurately understanding and measuring risk and engaging family members beyond the mother-child dyad is also discussed. Recommendations are made for making improvements in all of these areas, in order to strengthen home-visitation programs and produce better outcomes for the children and families they serve. Aspects of Nurse Family Partnership and Early Head Start, two widely replicated and rigorously evaluated programs, are highlighted to demonstrate how the issues discussed here are likely to affect service delivery and program outcomes. The multiple challenges inherent in replicating and evaluating home-visitation programs that are truly responsive to the needs of a wide array of families with young children are examined. This discussion concludes with a call to expand and improve methods for evaluating these programs, and to view home visitation as a component of a comprehensive system of child and family supports, rather than as a stand-alone model of intervention.

This paper examines the impact of welfare reforms on several measures of child maltreatment. The authors use state-level data from 1990 to 1998 to examine whether recent welfare reforms have increased or reduced the incidence of reported and substantiated cases of maltreatment, the incidence of specific types of substantiated maltreatment--physical abuse and neglect--and the number of children living in out-of-home care. The welfare reforms considered are the imposition of: family caps, lifetime limits, work requirements, sanctions for non-compliance, and the restriction of welfare benefits to immigrants. How welfare benefit levels and changes in state Earned Income Tax Credit programs affect reports and substantiated cases of maltreatment are also considered. Evidence strongly indicates that reductions in states' welfare benefit levels increase the number of children in out-of-home care, and some evidence indicates that strict lifetime welfare limits and tougher sanctions for noncompliance are related to higher levels of substantiated maltreatment. The evidence on family caps is mixed: family caps appear to be associated with fewer instances of substantiated maltreatment, but more children in out-of-home care. Because most of the welfare reforms examined have been in effect for only a short time, these results should be considered preliminary. Overall, however, they provide some evidence that the recent welfare reforms in the United States may have increased child maltreatment. (Contains 7 tables, 3 figures and 13 footnotes.)

This paper examines how child protection legislation has affected educational systems and school personnel in Canada and the United States and draws general conclusions about the adequacy of legislation concerning child abuse reporting requirements. Vagueness in the laws leads to problems with their implementation. (PP)

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]

This paper describes two studies investigating the interrater agreement of severity scales for family maltreatment used in America's largest child and family maltreatment agency: the U.S. military's Family Advocacy Program (FAP). The USAF-FAP Severity Index is a multidimensional rating system for clinicians' evaluations of the severity of seven forms of family maltreatment: partner physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; child physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; and child neglect. The first study evaluated the reliability of the scale as it is used in the field. The second study compared a generalizable sample of clinicians' ratings to an established "gold standard" of what the ratings should have been. The Severity Index demonstrated fair-to-good levels of reliability, suggesting that with minimal cost, investigating caseworkers can routinely assess, and make fairly reliable ratings of, the severity of seven forms of family maltreatment for each case they investigate. [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 act of addressing domestic violence in the context of Children Protective Service (CPS) work has been inconsistent at best. Generally, battered women and CPS workers collude in avoiding the subject for reasons ranging from fear of children's removal to anticipation of an emotional response to increasing caseload time restrictions. Recently some innovative programs and training efforts have begun to help CPS workers navigate these very complex intersections and assessments. This paper explores the historic background to these efforts. It then describes a sample of innovative CPS programs and explores the components of a specific training program. The latter was a Department of Health and Human Service funded program which was designed at UCLA liar the largest Public Child Welfare agency in the country. An assessment instrument was specifically developed for use in the training and agency; it is outlined here. The author examines the obstacles the training encountered as well as the resistance to the implementation of a comprehensive approach which follows the assessment instrument. This examination led to a consideration of policy issues that were addressed and those which require ongoing attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews abuse and neglect among children with disabilities and highlights the impact of disability on child abuse and neglect in the United States and internationally. Children with various disabilities have variable increases in their risk for maltreatment because of their increased vulnerability, difficulties in communication, and potential for ongoing victimization. Patterns of victimization are defined and discussed in categories of different types of maltreatment, including physical and sexual abuse, psychologic maltreatment, and neglect. The effects of disabilities of various types on this epidemiology are discussed, serving as an introduction to the problem of child abuse and neglect as well as describing potentially intervenable risk factors among the population of disabled children. Recommendations are given to improve our understanding of how to best identify child maltreatment among children with disabilities so they may maximize their developmental and intellectual potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, childcare subsidies are available to low-income working parents to assist with the cost of childcare. The subsidies are provided as block grants to states, which allows for a great deal of flexibility in the specific policies guiding their distribution. Prior research has found a protective link between childcare subsidies and child maltreatment, but the variations in policies have been much less explored. The current study used longitudinal administrative child welfare data from 10 years (2009–2019) linked with state policies regarding the income eligibility requirements of states to examine the impact of these policies on child abuse and neglect among young children (0–5); early school-age children (6–12), and older children (13–17). Using multiple regression and controlling for state demographic characteristics, the study found that more generous policies surrounding income eligibility were related to lower rates of child abuse and neglect investigations at the state level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child maltreatment is a significant worldwide problem, with consequences that can include impaired physical and mental health throughout life, and adverse social and occupational effects that carry a heavy economic and social burden. One estimate of cost to the US economy in 2007, for example, was over US$100bn. In middle- and low-income countries, there have been fewer studies of incidence and prevalence, and the economic and social costs are harder to estimate. It is very difficult to obtain full case ascertainment even in the most severe forms of child maltreatment, and even for fatal cases. In general, self-reporting and surveys identify higher rates of child maltreatment than data from sources relating to official notification. This paper reviews the epidemiology of child maltreatment from a practical perspective, with a focus on factors in the social environment, and the clinical history and examination, that predict an increased risk of child maltreatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The significant role of the community in the lives of children and youth at-risk has become increasingly clear to social work academics and professionals over the last three decades. Alongside the more traditional individual and family responses, community interventions have been designed to catalyze change in the environment of children and youth at-risk and supply holistic and sustainable responses to their needs. Ten such community intervention programs were identified from the United States, Australia, Canada, and Israel. Most employed the community development model, focused on developing leadership and social capital (improving community networking) and advancing coordination between the organizations and sectors in the field of risk among children and youth. The diverse programs reviewed focused both on at-risk children and youth in general or specifically on child abuse and neglect. The programs originated from different health, education, and welfare disciplines and sponsoring authorities. The majority were funded originally by private foundations; however, government involvement was significant, particularly in the adoption and support of initiatives after their development. The current analysis of the programs refers to core issues that arose from the review: professional orientation, main target unit, main initiator, and research and evaluation. Analysis of program characteristics enables identifying relevant aspects of these programs for use by policy, governmental, and nonprofit sector stakeholders seeking to develop similar programs. Conclusions and recommendations to advance the field are suggested considering the current context of government cuts in welfare funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found women who experience eight or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are 3.5 times as likely to be victims of adult IPV. This study examined the relationship between ACEs and IPV (physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and stalking) among college students. This study was conducted among undergraduate students (N = 2,900) at two large, non-profit, public universities in the United States. Students completed a web-based survey addressing self-reported ACEs and violence that occurred within the current academic year. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between ACEs and violence. College students with higher ACE scores were more likely to experience violence. Students with ACE scores of four or higher were between 1.9-4.9 times more likely to experience violence. A dose response relationship was found between ACE score and experiences of violence. Campus violence prevention programs may benefit from incorporating discussion of ACEs into programing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from age 3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the current study explores the complex relationships between U.S. childcare subsidies and neglect. Specifically, the study examines two research questions: (i) Are U.S. childcare subsidies associated with self‐reported neglect among low‐income mothers? (ii) What individual types of self‐reported neglect are significantly reduced by receipt of childcare subsidy? Using negative binomial regression examining the relationships among mothers who were income‐eligible for childcare subsidy, we found that childcare subsidy was associated with lower levels of supervisory neglect, indicating an important role of subsidy in the lives of low‐income families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child abuse and neglect are strongly associated with many subsequent mental health problems. This review summarizes the research on how adult mental health services respond when child abuse or neglect become known. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched for studies with rates of responding in various ways to child abuse and neglect by mental health professionals. Thirteen studies were identified: seven case note reviews, three surveys of staff, and three sets of interviews with service users. Rates of inclusion of abuse or neglect in treatment plans ranged from 12% to 44%. Rates of referral to abuse-related therapy ranged from 8% to 23%. Rates were lower for neglect than for abuse and were also lower for men and people with a diagnosis of psychosis. Two per cent or less of all cases were referred to legal authorities. The studies varied in focus and methodology, but all indicated inadequate clinical practice. The rates of abused or neglected people referred for therapy are actually lower than indicated by this review because most users of adult mental health services are not asked about abuse or neglect in the first place. The barriers to good practice, and the need for traumainformed services, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contingency management (CM) has extensively been shown to be effective in reducing substance use disorders, but its effects in reducing child maltreatment have yet to be determined. The current study provides preliminary support for the utilization of an innovative family-assisted CM component in 18 mothers who were referred to an evidence-supported behavioral treatment for concurrent child neglect and drug abuse by Child Protective Service caseworkers. In the examined CM, participants were invited to indicate from a list of common actions incompatible with child neglect (i.e. positive parenting actions), the extent to which these actions had been experienced utilizing a 3-point scale (almost never, sometimes, almost always). For each item that was indicated to be almost never or sometimes experienced, the participants were queried to indicate if the neglect incompatible action should be targeted as a therapeutic goal. Contingencies were subsequently established in which the participants were rewarded by involved family members for their completion of therapeutic goals. At baseline, results indicated that there was a negative association between the number of neglect incompatible parenting actions that were infrequently experienced and child abuse potential. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the number of neglect incompatible actions targeted as therapeutic goals at baseline, but not the number of positive parenting actions experienced infrequently at baseline, predicted reduced child maltreatment potential following treatment. These findings suggest the examined CM may assist evidence supported behavioral treatment specific to child neglect and drug abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child abuse is a problem that affects over six million children in the United States each year. Child neglect accounts for 78 % of those cases. Despite this, the issue of child neglect is still not well understood, partially because child neglect does not have a consistent, universally accepted definition. Some researchers consider child neglect and child abuse to be one in the same, while other researchers consider them to be conceptually different. Factors that make child neglect difficult to define include: (1) Cultural differences; motives must be taken into account because parents may believe they are acting in the child's best interests based on cultural beliefs (2) the fact that the effect of child abuse is not always immediately visible; the effects of emotional neglect specifically may not be apparent until later in the child's development, and (3) the large spectrum of actions that fall under the category of child abuse. Some of the risk factors for increased child neglect and maltreatment have been identified. These risk factors include socioeconomic status, education level, family composition, and the presence of dysfunction family characteristics. Studies have found that children from poorer families and children of less educated parents are more likely to sustain fatal unintentional injuries than children of wealthier, better educated parents. Studies have also found that children living with adults unrelated to them are at increased risk for unintentional injuries and maltreatment. Dysfunctional family characteristics may even be more indicative of child neglect. Parental alcohol or drug abuse, parental personal history of neglect, and parental stress greatly increase the odds of neglect. Parental depression doubles the odds of child neglect. However, more research needs to be done to better understand these risk factors and to identify others. Having a clearer understanding of the risk factors could lead to prevention and treatment, as it would allow for health care personnel to screen for high-risk children and intervene before it is too late. Screening could also be done in the schools and organized after school activities. Parenting classes have been shown to be an effective intervention strategy by decreasing parental stress and potential for abuse, but there has been limited research done on this approach. Parenting classes can be part of the corrective actions for parents found to be neglectful or abusive, but parenting classes may also be useful as a preventative measure, being taught in schools or readily available in higher-risk communities. More research has to be done to better define child abuse and neglect so that it can be effectively addressed and treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LONGSCAN was a longitudinal study of the risks and consequences of child abuse and neglect conducted between 1992 and 2012 among five sites across the US. Interviews with mothers of at-risk children began when the children were four years of age, and mothers and children from age six to age 18 years were interviewed every other year. Maltreatment reports were obtained from departments of social services, and subjects' self-reported abuse was obtained at age 12. Generalised estimating equations were used to investigate the impact of informal social control, social cohesion and trust (SCT), and caregiver depression at ages 12, 14 and 16 years on externalising behaviours, smoking and alcohol use among 18-year olds who had been neglected prior to age 12. In models controlling for child age and gender, maltreatment types other than neglect, maternal education and study site, SCT significantly reduced the impact of caregiver depression on externalising behaviour and alcohol use among the neglected children at age 18. This moderating effect was not seen among non-neglected 18-year-old children. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages: Child neglect is a significant predictor of adolescent health risk behaviours., Caregiver depression increases the risk of neglect and increases the adverse behavioural outcomes of neglect., Among children neglected before age 12, in the presence of caregiver depression, SCT reduce externalising behaviours and alcohol use at age 18., Identification and treatment of caregiver depression, along with supporting community cohesion and neighbourhood trust, can ameliorate some of the negative outcomes associated with child neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the traditional CPS investigation. Since the program’s inception, researchers have conducted several large evaluation studies of DR programs, and a large body of research and program literature has been published touting the success and benefits of DR. In response to significant concerns about the clarity and consistency of DR program models and the validity and generalizability of its associated research, the authors undertook a comprehensive, three-pronged evaluation to provide guidance in shaping the ongoing development of DR programs. This report summarizes the methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations from the review. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This qualitative research study is a unique and rich portrayal of public school–mandated reporters and their experiences with reporting child abuse on the U.S.–Mexico border. Twenty-eight school personnel were interviewed using grounded theory methods. Situations that involved parental substance abuse, domestic violence, and neglect were the most difficult for reporters to identify as potential child maltreatment. Emergent themes included (a) the inherent conflict between the mandate to report suspicions of child abuse versus the need for evidence, (b) the threat of potential violence as a result of a report, and (c) the impact of culture on reporting. The two theoretical models were developed to understand mandated reporters' behavior. Implications for future policy, practice, and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than half the children in the United States who were victims of maltreatment in 2000 were victims of neglect (USDHHS, 2002). The majority of all child maltreatment related fatalities in 2000 were the result of neglect (USDHHS, 2002), and 27.8% of these fatalities were associated with both physical abuse and neglect (USDHH, 2002). Neglected children are more likely to be younger children (USDHHS, 2000), and the highest rate of child fatality due to maltreatment is between the ages of zero and five (Petit & Curtis, 1997; Gustavsson & Segal, 1994; USDHHS, 1999). The purpose of this article is to present the findings of a systematic review of the research on child neglect from 1990 to 2002. The review critiques method and synthesizes of the current body of knowledge on child neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the established link between domestic violence and child abuse, only one study in California has explored whether Child Protective Services agencies have integrated domestic violence into their written child abuse assessment formats. This national study analyzes data gathered from every state in the U.S. (except California) to determine the extent to which CPS workers are encouraged through their assessment forms to inquire about domestic violence when assessing for child abuse. These preliminary findings suggest that although 90% of the states studied have, in one way or another, now integrated domestic violence into their child abuse assessment forms, states have only incorporated domestic violence to the extent that it may be a threat to the child. According to the assessment forms reviewed, no states have taken the critical next step of fully integrating domestic violence into their child abuse evaluations for the specific purpose of empowering the mother to protect the child. To respond to the call for a more comprehensive assessment, a screening questionnaire is proposed for CPS agencies that are truly interested in developing strategies that protect both the mother and the child. The perceptions of child welfare workers related to how they define the problem of domestic violence, and their ability to empower battered women in the child welfare process are also discussed as an important precursor to practice interventions chosen. Ample theoretical and empirical research suggests that children will be protected in the long‐term by addressing the needs of battered women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In their critique of differential response (DR), Hughes and colleagues raise a number of important issues that are central to broader efforts at the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) including the need for greater reliance on evidence-based practice in child welfare, more rigorous evaluation methodologies, and a robust set of measures and instruments to guide practice and evaluation. ACYF is pursuing these goals with projects to increase focus on child well-being, improve associated measures, promote the use of evidence-based programs, and expand the evidence base. We believe that DR is a promising practice and expect forthcoming results from an ACYF-sponsored multisite evaluation of DR to significantly enhance the evidence base. Future efforts can build on these results by focusing on social and emotional well-being in addition to safety and permanency, using demonstrated assessments to monitor outcomes, and offering families in both alternative and investigative pathways evidence-based services. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]