1. Single Agency
Key Messages
NEGLECT

2. Working Together 2015
‘Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development.
Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse.’

3. Overcoming Anxieties
There is a distinction between being ‘judgmental’ and ‘making judgements’.
In early stages it is not necessary to decide ‘is this neglect?’.
Practitioners need to ask themselves what it is that is making them concerned and listen to their own concerns.
It is important to organise and analyse information

4. Calderdale identifies 4 types of neglect
Emotional neglect
Disorganised neglect
Depressed or passive neglect
Severe deprivation
Each is associated with different effects and
implications for intervention
(Howe, D (2005) Child Abuse and Neglect, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan)
For more information see Assessment of Neglect Toolkit

5. Reasons why parents neglect children
Circumstantial
Poverty
Particular relationships
Lack of skill/knowledge
Temporary illness
Lack of support
Environmental factors
Fundamental
Lack of parenting capacity
Deep seated attitudinal/behavioural/ psychological problems
Long term health issues
Entrenched problematical drug/ alcohol use
Working out what is going on, will help to select the best intervention

6. Focus on the Child
Neglect is to do with relationships and with attachment. It is important to find out what the child means to the parent/carer and how the child makes them feel

7. Making the link to practice
Research tells us to focus on: • Early intervention • Home visiting • Relationship building within families • Being explicit about concerns about neglect • Addressing the complexity of neglect by dealing with more than one issue at a time • Long term approaches • Evidence based programmes

8. Useful Tools:
‘A Day in the Life…’ - Making sense of the child’s lived experience
Child Development Tool 0 to 16
Assessment of Neglect Toolkit
Thresholds Tool
Access via the CSCB website