An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm. The provision of such treatment would be virtually futile in terms of the survival of the infant and the treatment itself under such circumstances would be inhumane. Each State is responsible for providing its own definitions of child abuse and neglect within the civil and criminal context. Criminal statutes specify the forms of maltreatment that are criminally punishable. Child Neglect is characterized by failure to provide for the child's basic needs.
Neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional.
Educational neglect includes the allowance of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school, and failure to attend to a special educational need. 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.