What is child neglect?

Child neglect or child endangerment occurs when parents or legal guardians willfully fail to meet a child's basic needs, including food, shelter, clothes, medical treatment, and supervision.

What persons and what types of actions are covered by child abuse laws?

It is a crime for adults to abuse children in their care. The term "adult" includes parents, foster parents, legal guardians, other adults in the home, family members, and baby-sitters. Supervising adults may not go beyond reasonable physical punishment. For example, adults who beat children so severely that they require medical treatment have violated these laws. Child abuse laws involve not only physical abuse (such as beatings or starvation), but include other types of cruelty, such as subjecting a child to extreme humiliation.

A person may be guilty of child abuse that he or she did not personally commit if that person had legal responsibility for the child and failed to protect the child from the abuser.

How does one report a suspected case of child abuse?

Many states use an 800 number for a child abuse hot line. Calls also can be made to the state or country department that handles human services or children's issues. If an emergency exists, you can call the police.

If welfare officials or the court take children away from their parents, is the removal temporary or permanent?

The goal is usually to reunite the family after correcting the problems that led to the removal. This is not always possible. Among the factors a court will consider are the severity and frequency of the parents' deficiency or bad conduct, the efforts of the parents to correct the situation, and the amount of time it would take to correct the situation. For example, if the parents make little or no effort to improve the child's care or if the abuse is unusually severe, then the state may ask a court to end all parental rights. If this happens, the legal bonds between parents and children may be completely and permanently cut, and another family may adopt the child.

American Bar Association Family Legal Guide
Copyright © 2004 American Bar Association