Educational neglect includes the allowance of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school, and failure to attend to special educational needs. Emotional neglect includes such actions as marked inattention to the child's needs for affection, refusal of or failure to provide needed psychological care, domestic violence in the child's presence, and permitting drug or alcohol use by the child. The assessment of child neglect requires consideration of the cultural values and standards of care as well as recognition that the failure to provide the necessities of life to a child may be related to poverty. Less severe acts, such as regular scapegoating or belittling are often difficult to prove and, therefore, CPS may not be able to intervene without evidence of harm to the child. Although any of the forms of child abuse and neglect may be found separately, they often occur in combination.
Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms are identified.