Family and Child Welfare

Family and Child Welfare 3 (3+0)

Lesson 13 : Classification of Family and Child Welfare Services

Situations in which protective services are appropriate

The situations in which protective agencies intervene are those in which the parent is unable and/ or unwilling to enact the parental role effectively, and his failure constitutes an actual danger to the normal physical, emotional, and social development of the child. The statutory definitions of maltreatment sug­gest the different kinds of situations. Although definitions of what is involved in such situations differ from state to state, they generally include most of the fol­lowing (Katz, Howe, McGrath, 1975):

1. Physical abuse.
2. Malnourishment; poor clothing; lack of proper shelter, sleeping arrange­ments, attendance, or supervision. Includes "failure to thrive" syndrome, which describes infants who fail to grow and develop at a normal rate.
3. Denial of essential medical care.
4. Failure to attend school regularly.
5. Exploitation, overwork.
6. Exposure to unwholesome or demoralizing circumstances.
7. Sexual abuse.
8. Somewhat less frequently the definitions include emotional abuse and neglect involving denial of the normal experiences that permit a child to feel loved, wanted, secure, and worthy.

These general situations, in effect, break down into two major categories: physical and sexual abuse, and neglect of one kind or another. Infanticide is the ultimate abuse; abandonment is the ultimate neglect. Efforts are made to main­tain such distinctions by noting some of the differences in the nature and the etiology of abuse and neglect.

Some regard such distinctions as spurious and false, noting the supposedly frequent overlap of abuse and neglect. Preference is for a unitary term. In place of the abused child or the neglected child, the maltreated child or the endan­gered child is the term of choice.

The model Child Protective Services Act defines an abused or neglected child as one "whose physical or mental health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm by the acts or omissions of his parents or others responsible for his welfare.

The services to the children in the context of the present programme in the country however be classified in to