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Physical Neglect

The Department of Health and Human Services' Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3) defines physical neglect as any of the following:

• Refusal of health care—failure to provide or allow needed care in accordance with recommendations of a competent health-care professional for a physical injury, illness, medical condition, or impairment.
• Delay in health care—failure to seek timely and appropriate medical care for a serious health problem that any reasonable layperson would have recognized as needing professional medical attention.
• Abandonment—desertion of a child without arranging for reasonable care and supervision.
• Expulsion—other blatant refusals of custody, such as permanent or indefinite expulsion of a hild from the home without adequate arrangement for care by others or refusal to accept custody of a returned runaway.
• Inadequate supervision—leaving a child unsupervised or inadequately supervised for extended periods of time, or allowing the child to remain away from home overnight without knowing or attempting to determine the child's whereabouts.
• Other physical neglect—may include inadequate nutrition, clothing, or hygiene; conspicuous inattention to avoidable hazards in the home; and other forms of reckless disregard for the child's safety and welfare (e.g., driving with the child while intoxicated, leaving a young child unattended in a car).

Adapted from J. Goldman, M. K. Salus, D. Wolcott, and K. Y. Kennedy. (2003). A coordinated response to child abuse and neglect: The foundation for practice. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved June 2006 from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/foundation/foundationc.cfm

Selected Resources Boarder Babies, Abandoned Infants, and Discarded Infants (PDF - 62 KB) National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center (2005) Discusses definitions, prevalence, characteristics, and implications for boarder babies, abandoned infants, and discarded infants. When Is Lack of Supervision Neglect? Hymel & American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect Pediatrics, 118(3), 2006 Guidance for pediatricians considering a referral to a child protective services agency on the basis of suspicion of supervisory neglect. Neglect of Children's Health Care Dubowitz (1999) In Neglected Children: Research, Practice and Policy View Abstract Discusses the definition of neglected health care, its frequency, etiology, major manifestations, and management.

Updated on March 1, 2010