As long as parents are taking advantage of these opportunities, the children will not be taken away. The state steps in only when the children are facing a health-threatening problem caused by abandonment or neglect. However, neglect could exist if the parent fails to get public assistance for the child. Abuse or neglect of children can lead to several other legal problems. In milder cases, state workers may attempt to establish a program to supervise the home life and provide training and counseling to the parents or other adults responsible for the abuse or neglect.
Most states follow a practice of trying to preserve the family if at all possible.
State workers may visit with the family on a regular basis or may make random spot checks. In serious cases, however, most state laws require that the child be taken away from the parents at least temporarily. State agencies may have too few employees to investigate every case properly. As a result, some instances of serious abuse or neglect in the home may slip through the cracks. There is a growing trend for lawsuits against the state when its workers know about abuse or neglect and fail to do anything.