Family-Centered Anti-Poverty Strategies to Address Child Neglect

This paper addresses the often-overlooked findings that over 60% of screened-in the cases coming to the child welfare system in the United States represent neglect and not abuse. The child protection services (CPS) system was not designed with child neglect as the predominant form of maltreatment. C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child welfare 2021-04, Vol.98 (6), p.145-176
Main Authors: Briar-Lawson, Katharine, Pryce, Jessica A., Raheim, Salome
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African American Children
African Americans
Child abuse
Child abuse & neglect
Child care
Child Neglect
Child poverty
Child welfare
Children
Community-based programs
Design
Domestic relations
Economic aspects
Employment
Families & family life
Food
Foster care
Mental health
Methods
Needs
Poverty
Prevention
Protection
Social aspects
Surveillance
Trauma
Unemployment
United States
Welfare recipients
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Summary:This paper addresses the often-overlooked findings that over 60% of screened-in the cases coming to the child welfare system in the United States represent neglect and not abuse. The child protection services (CPS) system was not designed with child neglect as the predominant form of maltreatment. Current practices of incidentoriented investigations and substantiation may not be relevant to the majority of families in the system. More supportive, family-centered models and service designs are offered, based on promising practices. These include services that address poverty and unemployment along with material hardship. Economic, employment and occupational ladders and related anti-poverty suggestions are recommended for families with material needs. A table comparing incident-based CPS to a needs-based alternative is offered along with a call for more TANF linked and community-based interventions to address poverty, unemployment, and risks for child neglect. More systematic attention to poverty and unemployment will also address racial disproportionalities in the U.S. child welfare system. From an international perspective, this article offers what some of the lessons might be in moving from an incident-driven child protection system to one that is more family focused and oriented to the needs of the family and child. Several examples of promising programs are offered from other nations.
ISSN:0009-4021
2833-5619