Child Neglect in the Family Context: Challenges and Opportunities for Management in Pediatric Settings

Pediatric populations who have experienced deficient parental care are at significant risk for various psychological and health problems. Practitioners' abilities to institute effective assessments and interventions for these children and their families are limited by the difficulties of defining child neglect, lack of reliable and valid assessment methods, and limited empirical data concerning intervention, especially prevention. Research and practice for neglected children and their families would be enhanced by developing methods to identify and describe deficient care using clear guidelines and normative standards, conceptual models to guide assessment and intervention, new models of intervention involving partnerships between hospital and community-based agencies. and advocacy for services and research.