California considers any failure on the part of a parent or legal guardian to adequately provide for a child’s needs, whether physically, emotionally, medically, and/or educationally, an act of child neglect. This can be either through action or inaction as long as the failure was both willful and without lawful excuse. Neglect can be categorized in one of two ways under California law: severe neglect and general neglect. The two degrees of neglect are distinguished by the severity of the child’s resulting medical condition.