The Role of Professional Child Care Providers in Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect

Author(s): Children's Bureau Karageorge, Kathy, Kendall, Rosemary

Year Published: 2008

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Appendix G: Risk Indicators: Developmental Expectations of Children, Particularly Those with Special Needs¹

Very Low Risk	Low Risk	Moderate Risk	High Risk
The staff generally have appropriate expectations for the age groups in care. The staff have individualized expectations in areas where the children have special developmental lags. The children are encouraged to develop at their own pace and stage and without skipping stages. The staff describe the children's special needs scientifically and respect confidentiality by not identifying which children have special needs.	The staff generally have appropriate expectations for the age groups in care. There is no evidence of individualized expectations for the special needs children. The children are encouraged to develop at their own pace. The staff describe the special needs of some children scientifically to others. The staff are unsure about the reasons for the child's difficulty. The children are not identified by name, but may be pointed out in the activity room.	Expectations often seem unreasonable—too high or too low—for the age groups in care. There are no individualized expectations for special needs children; expectations for all children are based on age and not on developmental appropriateness. The children with special needs do not receive encouragement to try things and are expected to work at the stage and pace of the other children. Competition between the children is used frequently, and the special needs children must compete with normal-range children. The children with special needs are described patronizingly (children to feel sorry for) or judgmentally (difficult, slow) with little respect for confidentiality.	The staff seem to expect perfection from all children, including the children with developmental lags. There are unrealistic expectations for the special needs children. Age is the basis for all developmental expectations of the children. All children are expected to work at the same pace and stage. The staff do not recognize the children with special needs. The children are all expected to work at the same pace and stage, and the staff discourage individual development. Competition is used to emphasize differences between the children. The special needs children are ridiculed for their inability to compete with the other children. The children with special needs are described in unscientific, negative, or moral terms (bad, hyper, different, slow) and with no respect for confidentiality. The special needs children are treated indifferently and are seen as children to work around, not with. The special needs children are removed from activities when disruptive, but are not given anything else to do.

¹U.S. Army Child Development Services. (1993). Administration handbook for the Child Abuse Risk Assessment Tool (p. 34). Alexandria, VA: Author. back

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The Role of Professional Child Care Providers in Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect

Appendix G: Risk Indicators: Developmental Expectations of Children, Particularly Those with Special Needs1

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Appendix G: Risk Indicators: Developmental Expectations of Children, Particularly Those with Special Needs¹