Child Abuse - Child Neglect

Child neglect is a serious form of child abuse.  Though an individual may not intend to be neglectful toward a child, simple actions or inaction may be considered forms of neglect.  Since child neglect can have serious emotional and physical effects on a child, it is important to know what constitutes neglect.

Usually, neglect takes one of four forms.  These forms of neglect are:

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  Emotional neglect, such as the failure to attend to a child in emotional distress or permissive attitudes toward juvenile drug and alcohol use


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  Educational neglect by failure to enroll a child in an appropriate school or to provide suitable in-home education


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  Physical neglect involving the denial of adequate food, shelter, or attention that is essential to a child's health


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  Medical neglect, such as the failure to seek medical treatment when a child is injured or ill

Any form of neglect may be performed by a parent, relative, or caregiver.  Often, prolonged neglect can have grave mental and physical consequences for a child, so parents or legal guardians of children that have suffered neglect at the hands of another party may be entitled to financial compensation for their children's suffering.

Before pursuing legal action, parents and legal guardians are advised to seek experienced legal counsel to help them file their lawsuits and fight their cases.  Should the accused party choose to settle out of court, an experienced lawyer can also help with those negotiations. In cases where custodial situations need to be changed, an agreement may need to be set forth by the parents or legal guardians to make sure that the child is taken care of. 

Child neglect is a serious problem that should not go unpunished. If your child suffered long term effects after being neglected by a caretaker, relative, or ex-spouse, discuss your case with the Chicago personal injury attorneys of Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C., to learn more about your legal rights and options.

Child Care Neglect

The child care industry in the Untied States is very large. Many parents and guardians need to leave their children at day care facilities because they spend the entire day at work. Children who are too young to go to school then have to wait for their parents at day care facilities.

For the most part, the child care industry in the United States is very good. Children are usually taken care of well. There is enough supervision. Children are kept in a disciplined environment. They are given enough food and drink to sustain themselves and even maintain their health. And for the most part, parents do not worry about their children's safety when they drop them off to day care in the morning. They do not expect that something will be wrong at the end of the day, or that they will be called in the middle of the day from the workers are the daycare informing them about something that went wrong at the facility, something that affected their children.

Unfortunately, however, there are times when these exact things happen. Parents may come to pick their children up at the end of the day and realize that their children have been injured or hurt. Parents may have to rush from work to the child care facility to check up on their children. Or worse, they may have to leave work in the middle of the day and rush to a hospital where their children have been taken.

Daycare centers are not perfect. As a result, mistakes do occur. Neglect does occur. But when workers at a daycare fail to perform their duties--when they fail to provide proper supervision of the children and thus neglect them--a lot bad things can occur. Children may fall into a pool and drown. They may choke on a small object that they placed in their mouth. They may place a plastic bag over their heads and suffocate. They may put something chemically dangerous into their mouths. They may get electrocuted. Children may not be given enough food and water. Their complaints of sickness may be ignored. These things can occur at child care facilities because of neglect, and there is not excuse for such calamities leading to injury to or death of a child.

Parents have a right to think that their children will be safe at child care centers, for they are paying the facilities to take care of their children. For more information about neglect at child care facilities and centers, visit the website of Milwaukee personal injury attorneys and lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C. by visiting their website [http://www.habush.com/contact.php].

Joseph Devine

Child Neglect Laws

Under the law, California Penal Code section 270, child neglect is committed when a parent of a minor child willfully omits, without lawful excuse, to furnish necessary clothing, food, shelter or medical attendance, or other remedial care for his or her child. All the State needs to prove is that your acts were willful and without lawful excuse.

For example, you could be found guilty of child neglect for intentionally leaving your child in the car while going into a store. You could also be found guilty for placing your child in a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation in or out of their home.

Child abandonment or endangerment is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both a fine and imprisonment together.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Child Welfare Information Gateway, 60% of abused children suffer from neglect. 56% of all alleged cases of child neglect are reported by teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers and other professionals, and 44% are reported by friends, neighbors and relatives. Notably, in California, most child care professionals and health practicitioners are required to report suspected instances of child neglect in a timely manner. The omission of this responsibility could result in fines, jail time and civil damages, not to mention the danger to the child itself. Child neglect can take various forms:

· failure to ensure a child is wearing a seat belt and the child is later injured in a car accident

· failure to provide education to a child

· drug/alcohol related

· subjecting the child to extreme corporal punishment

· bodily harm

· child abuse and maltreatment

· exposing the child to domestic violence

· kidnapping

· stalking

· sexual abuse and assault

· neglect

· lack of providing food, clothing, shelter or medical care

· homicide

In sum, child neglect crimes are serious criminal charges. Moreover, the District Attorney and the courts are very protective of children, and will, in most cases, want actual incarceration when someone has been charged with neglecting a child. It's to the benefit of a defense attorney to try to work with the prosecutor to reduce the fine and/or potential jail time in these types of cases if the case cannot be defended on a factual or legal basis.

The Key Issue for Child Neglect is Intent

Can the State prove that the child neglect was willful or done intentionally? If the State cannot prove intent, then charges will most likely be dismissed or the defendant will be found not guilty at trial. If the State has problems with proving intent, then the case can be dismissed or settled for reduced charges with potentially zero jail or fines.

Other key factors to consider in these cases are whether the defendant has a prior criminal record. If the defendant has a prior record for child neglect, punishment will typically be more severe. If there is no prior record, then punishment can be greatly reduced. A sentence including probation is what happens for the vast majority of its clients; with probation comes the opportunity to have community service, home arrest, or work project as opposed to actual jail time.

Robert Miller is an Orange County Criminal Defense Lawyer at Robert Miller and Associates, A Law Corporation. You can reach him through his information websites: http://www.ocduiblog.com
http://www.expertlawfirm.com