A common trope alleges that child protection caseworkers confuse poverty with neglect.
This has been repeated so often that many accept it as fact, but there’s actually no evidence to support it.
For one thing, state Guidelines (pp. 39-40) define neglect as failing to provide for children’s basic needs only if parents are “reasonably able to do so.”
For another, just a quarter of neglect cases are screened into child protection for failure to provide basic needs, fewer still have a maltreatment finding, and these remaining cases usually also involve factors such as leaving children with dangerous caregivers, or withholding medical care (Barth et. al. p. 488).
Our report on Minnesota child fatalities argues that services like child care and early learning scholarships simultaneously support parents and reduce neglect. Let’s focus on increasing these resources, not on inaccurately criticizing caseworkers.
See the Star Tribune commentary about our report on child fatalities.
Join Rich Gehrman for a deeper discussion and analysis in this week’s podcast, here or wherever you hear your favorite podcast shows.
Read the transcript of the podcast here.