Neglect Case Studies

Neglect is also an important factor leading to child death and was highlighted in the high-profile cases of Victoria Climbié (Laming 2003) and Danial Pelka. In Daniels case, weight loss, the stealing of food and how Daniel was withdrawn and showing little interaction with other children was all noticed by school staff, yet the school failed to keep accurate records and did not collectively, nor coherently generate their concerns into a child protection referral. Subsequently, leading Daniel to become an ‘invisible child’ and ultimately leading to his death (SSCB 2013). This again highlights the difficulty in the ability to define the boundaries of what constitutes as neglect, making it difficult to spot. In Daniels case, it was likely put
This form of parenting very often entails disorganised neglect, erratic caregiving, lack of physical care, non-existent emotional responsiveness and the absence of structure and control (Barker & Hodes 2007). Here the problems are often multifaceted, care given is erratic and dominated by chaos and continual crises (Barker & Hodes 2007). Neglect often involves lack of physical care, limited or non-existent emotional attachment and a substantial lack of structure, supervision, and control. This can lead to a deprivation of basic requirements such as food, warmth, and adequate shelter. This form of neglect is rarely expressed through a single incident, and it is likely that a family such as this is already in the child protection system. The neglect is often chronic and resulted from a culmination of long-term
This term as the Department of Health states “describe the issues of domestic violence, mental ill-health and substance misuse which have been identified as common features of families where harm to women and children has occurred. They are viewed as indicators of increased risk of harm and neglect to children and young people.” (2014: 4). Work in this area has shown that there is a large overlap between these parental risk factors and cases of child death, serious injury and generally poorer outcomes for children across all ages (Brandon et al, 2008). As the serious case review by Hall (2013) shows, all of these risk factors were present in the case of Daniel Pelka. Statistics suggest that Daniels case is by no means a rarity. 1,796,244 children in England live in households where there is a risk of domestic violence. 250,000 to 978,000 children have a parent who misuses drugs, and more than 2 million children are affected by parental mental ill-health (Jütte, S. et al 2015). Statistics also suggests a strong comorbidity of these problems. As this report undertaken by the Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse shows “a clear co-occurrence between the ‘toxic trio’ risk factors of domestic abuse, substance misuse (alcohol and/or drugs) and parental mental ill health. Nearly a third of mothers (31%) and a third of fathers (32%) in these families experiencing domestic abuse disclosed either mental health