What Is Child Abuse & Neglect
aworthen
I hope this clears up any disagreement over "what defines abuse" Here is the law in black and white. It applies to all 50 states.
"CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
ACT"
The Public Law 100-294
Defines child abuse and neglect as being any physical or mental injury, act of sexual abuse or exploitation, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of any child under the age of 18, unless the child protection law of the State in, which the child resides specifies a younger age for cases not involving sexual abuse, by a person, including any employee of a residential facility or any staff person providing out-of- home care, who is responsible for the child's welfare under circumstances, which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby.
The Act defines sexual abuse as: the use, employment, persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct (or any simulation of such conduct) for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct, or rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children.
As a result of the above amendment to the Child Abuse Act, the act now also includes the withholding of medically indicated treatment for an infant's life-threatening conditions as child abuse.
The following categories basically all fit under the heading Maltreatment:
PHYSICAL ABUSE
Physical abuse is defined by inflicting any type of physical injury by punching, slapping, hitting, beating, kicking, biting, arm twisting, hair pulling, burning, or otherwise harming a child. The parent or care giver may not have intended to hurt the child and injury may have resulted from over-discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate to the child's age. However, it is still abuse. Any physical act causing harm to a child is abuse whether it was intended or not.
CHILD NEGLECT
Child neglect is defined by failure on the parents or care givers part to provide for the child's basic needs, food, water, shelter, clothing and so on. Child neglect can be a combination of the following: physical, educational, or emotional or can be just one alone.
The latest national incidence study defines these three types of neglect as follows.
PHYSICAL NEGLECT
Physical neglect includes refusal of or delay in seeking health care or emergency medical services, abandonment, kicking an under aged child out of the home. Not allowing a runaway to return home. Inadequate supervision, leaving the child unattended for long periods of time. Leaving an under aged child home alone to be responsible for younger siblings.
EDUCATIONAL NEGLECT
Educational neglect includes allowing your school aged child to commit the act of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age, every child has the right to education and should be in school according to your states guidelines. Inattention to a special educational need, such as knowing your child is in need of special education classes and doing nothing about it.
EMOTIONAL NEGLECT
Emotional neglect includes such actions as chronic or extreme spouse abuse in the child's presence. Knowledge of drug or alcohol use by the child, or permission. Refusal of or failure to allow or provide needed psychological care.
It is extremely important to distinguish between willful neglect and a parent's or caretaker's failure to provide necessities of life because of poverty or cultural norms. Say for example, willful neglect is acts that call for Child Protective Services intervention. Whereas, if a parent who is unable to provide the necessities of life due to poverty may, instead, seek assistance from the governmental agencies charged with providing financial assistance, health services, housing, or other basic services.
EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Emotional abuse includes but is not limited to: Screaming, yelling, belittling, name calling, emotional detachment, lack of love and affection, scapegoating, such as blaming the child for the adults problems or financial state.
As you've seen there are many forms of child maltreatment more often than not we find them occurring in combinations. Emotional/psychological will most likely always be present as well. Emotional abuse and neglect includes acts or omissions by the parents, guardians or any other person responsible for the child's care that have caused, or could possibly cause, serious behavioral, emotional, or mental disorders.
In some cases of emotional/psychological abuse the acts of parents or other caretakers alone, without any harm evident in the child's behavior or condition, such as parents, guardian or care givers use excessive, extreme even sometimes bizarre forms of punishment, such as torture, or locking a child in a dark closet. These also are sufficient to warrant the intervention of Child Protective Services.
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This page was updated on: 29 June 1997
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