Mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect may find it challenging to recognize and report neglect. Child neglect is a complicated issue, and many states are updating their definitions of neglect to ensure children aren’t separated from families for issues that do not put their safety or welfare at risk.
How States Are Redefining Neglect
California is one example of a state that redefined its definition of neglect to help keep families together. California Assembly Bill 2085 (AB 2085) clarified that poverty does not equal child neglect. The bill, which went into effect in 2023, excludes economic disadvantage as a factor in general neglect and updated the definition of general neglect to situations where a child is at “substantial risk of serious harm or illness.”
California is not alone in amending neglect definitions to keep families together, provide support, and not equate poverty with neglect.
Texas passed House Bill 567 in 2021 to narrow the legal definition of child neglect by including the statement “an act or lack of action that puts a child in ‘immediate danger’ of harm.” It also states that the caregiver must have “blatant disregard” for the safety of the child to be considered child neglect.
In 2018, Utah passed the first Reasonable Childhood Independence law. Seven states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois, and Montana, have also passed bills that encourage reasonable and appropriate child independence and protect parents from neglect charges for providing it.
Four Types of Child Neglect
Many states still legally define neglect as when a child’s basic needs are not met by their parents, guardian, or custodian. This can include a lack of supervision, food, clothing, medical care, or education.
Physical Neglect
Many states define physical neglect as a failure to provide for a child’s basic needs, including food and shelter. It may also include inattention to a child’s clothing or hygiene needs. Definitions also include inadequate supervision, abandonment, refusal of custody, and expelling a child from the home.
Emotional Neglect
Emotional neglect of a child can range from failure to seek or provide treatment for a child’s emotional or behavioral problem to exposing a child to a maladaptive environment, including abuse, drug abuse, pornography, or criminal behavior. Some state definitions also consider emotional neglect to include inattention to a child’s need for attention and affection or, on the other end of the spectrum, overprotective behavior that interferes with a child’s social development.
Medical Neglect
Medical neglect is generally defined as a parent or guardian’s failure to provide adequate medical care for a child. It can include failure to obtain or seek medical care or treatment for physical, mental, or behavioral problems. Some states provide a religious exemption that allows some parents to refuse medical treatments based on religious beliefs.
Educational Neglect
Education is a fundamental right of every child. When caregivers fail to ensure this right, it manifests as educational neglect. States generally define educational neglect as a failure to register or enroll a child in school in violation of state laws or knowingly permitting chronic tardiness or truancy.
Risk-Based Types of Child Neglect
While these four traditional categories of neglect — physical, emotional, educational, and medical — are still in use in many states, many states are now using new categories to reflect changing attitudes toward neglect.
These categories refine the concept of neglect by focusing on the level of risk and context, helping you decide when to intervene.
Severe Neglect
Situations where a child is in immediate, life-threatening danger due to a caregiver’s blatant disregard for safety. In California, severe neglect is defined as the negligent failure of a person with the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. Severe neglect also means willfully endangering the person or health of the child, or intentionally withholding basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
- Intentional failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.
- Direct exposure to hazards, such as unsafe environments, unsecured homes, substance use, or dangerous behaviors by caregivers.
- Immediate signs of severe physical harm or risk.
What to do: Report immediately; these situations require urgent intervention.
General or Chronic Neglect
General neglect means the failure to provide for the needs of a child (food, shelter, clothing, medical care, etc.) where no physical harm has occurred, but the child is at risk for harm. Chronic or general neglect can mean repeated failures in care that gradually create a substantial risk of serious harm or developmental delay but does not include a parents' economic disadvantage.
- Recurrent absences from school, repeated untreated health issues, or prolonged exposure to unsafe living conditions.
- Accumulation of minor neglect indicators that, over time, compromise a child’s well-being.
What to do: Report when patterns emerge that suggest the child is at risk for physical harm or illness.
Supporting Families
In situations where external factors such as poverty, economic disadvantages, or systemic inequities affect care, but there is no immediate or chronic danger to the child, a report may not be the correct course of action. Linking the family to supportive services may help address basic needs, such as shelter, food, or clothing.
- Economic hardship or resource scarcity might be evident, but the child is not demonstrably at risk of immediate harm.
- Signs of stress in the family might benefit more from community or social services rather than a neglect label.
What to do: While not immediately reportable as neglect, these situations should trigger a referral to supportive services or further assessment.
When to Report and When to Support
Neglect definitions are beginning to shift. Some states are amending these definitions so that economic disadvantage or poverty, where families do not have enough money or resources to meet their daily basic needs, does not constitute neglect. In California, for example, conditions related to financial difficulty may not be the sole factor for a child to be reported to child welfare.
In these situations, a referral to supportive services may help a family find assistance with food, shelter, or clothing that can remove the general neglect risk factor.
How to Keep Up-to-Date
The best way to keep up-to-date with your state’s definitions of neglect and reporting (or supporting) protocols is with regular training.
Many mandatory reporters are required to update their training annually or every two years. Adherence to this requirement can help you understand where your state stands regarding reporting vs. supporting neglect issues.
Mandated reporters can find state-specific training at the Mandated Reporter Training platform. Explore the course catalog.
This article was originally published in 2023 and was last updated in 2025.
