Examines current knowledge about promising approaches to help families meet the basic needs of their children and suggests effective intervention strategies. Among the situations intervention addresses are: inadequate supervision; inappropriate substitute child care; abandonment; unstable living arrangements; lack of needed health care; inattention to education, nutrition, personal hygiene, household sanitary conditions, or household safety; inadequate clothing; and drug or alcohol abuse or violence in the home. Effective intervention works on multiple levels and involves: (1) collaboration between family and community to build support networks; (2) comprehensive assessment of the family to determine the type of neglect and contributing causes; (3) efforts to help families improve interpersonal and coping skills, to empower them to resolve their problems and avoid dependence on the social service system, and to foster their strengths; (4) cultural competence, or the ability to adapt practices to accommodate the client’s worldview; and (5) approaches that are appropriate for the child’s stage of development. Once families’ concrete needs for housing, food, and financial assistance are met, interventions can mobilize social supports, provide developmental remediation for children, and involve families in behavioral therapy to address self-defeating thoughts, reduce safety hazards in the home, and develop stress-management skills.
