Emotional neglect includes such actions as marked inattention to the child s needs for affection, refusal of or failure to provide needed psychological care, spouse abuse in the child s presence, and permission of drug or alcohol use by the child. The assessment of child neglect requires consideration of cultural values and standards of care as well as recognition that the failure to provide the necessities of life may be related to poverty. Sexual Abuse includes fondling a child s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation through prostitution or the production of pornographic materials. Less severe acts, such as habitual scapegoating, belittling, or rejecting treatment, 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 maltreatment may be found separately, they often occur in combination.
Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms are identified.