NCJ Number
246524
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 37 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2013 Pages: 745-752
Date Published
October 2013
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Research in child fatalities because of abuse and neglect has continued to increase, yet the mechanisms of the death incident and risk factors for these deaths remain unclear.
Abstract
Research in child fatalities because of abuse and neglect has continued to increase, yet the mechanisms of the death incident and risk factors for these deaths remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the types of neglect that resulted in children's deaths as determined by child welfare and a child death review board. This case review study reviewed 22 years of data n = 372 of child fatalities attributed solely to neglect taken from a larger sample N = 754 of abuse and neglect death cases spanning the years 1987-2008. The file information reviewed was provided by the Oklahoma Child Death Review Board CDRB and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services DHS Division of Children and Family Services. Variables of interest were child age, ethnicity, and birth order; parental age and ethnicity; cause of death as determined by child protective services CPS; and involvement with DHS at the time of the fatal event. Three categories of fatal neglect - supervisory neglect, deprivation of needs, and medical neglect - were identified and analyzed. Results found an overwhelming presence of supervisory neglect in child neglect fatalities and indicated no significant differences between children living in rural and urban settings. Young children and male children comprised the majority of fatalities, and African American and Native American children were over-represented in the sample when compared to the state population. This study underscores the critical need for prevention and educational programming related to appropriate adult supervision and adequate safety measures to prevent a child's death because of neglect.