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Neglect has become ‘normalised’ as poverty has risen and community support for parents has decreased. However, too often it does not meet the threshold for intervention.
A report from the NSPCC warns that while neglect is one of the most common forms of maltreatment on Child Protection Plans, professionals ‘are frequently desensitised’ to the warning signs – simply because it has become ‘so widespread’.
The report, which has been written by Eavan Mckay, a senior policy officer at the NSPCC, also warns that the response from social care to referrals concerning neglect is too often ‘inadequate and slow’.
Furthermore, when incidents do not meet the threshold for intervention – which is set locally under Section 17 (Children's Act) – action is often simply not taken at all.
The study considers all forms of neglect, including physical, educational, emotional and medical. Children of school age who have experienced neglect are more likely to suffer mental health problems including depression, PTSD and panic disorders. Neglect can also increase the risk of other forms of harm, including child criminal exploitation.
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