2,000,000 cases of child maltreatment are reported each year.

Child Neglect

Child neglect is a parent’s failure or inability to provide a child with appropriate, consistent and adequate nurturance, including support for emerging social skills, emotional well being, exploration and learning, and language development, as well as attention to physical needs and health care

Significance

Despite the high prevalence and serious nature of child neglect, the mechanisms by which it causes cumulative long-term damage to child development remain poorly understood. Because of this, prevention efforts among high-risk groups, such as teenage mothers, have been disappointing to date. We believe that prevention approaches can be highly successful when they are specifically targeted on the causes of child neglect. To be effective, prevention programs should address a number of important goals including:

• Enhance parenting skills
• Help stabilize family life through education and job training
• Improve parents’ physical and mental health
• Assist in forming positive social support network for the family