California's Social Welfare System & Children

Under California law, child abuse or neglect includes physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means upon a child by another person, sexual abuse, neglect, wilful cruelty or unjustifiable punishment, unlawful corporal punishment or injury and is against the law (State, 2004). Neglect means the negligent treatment or the mistreatment of a child by a person responsible for the child's welfare; severe neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care of custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed non-organic failure to thrive, or wilfully allowing the child or the health of a child to be placed in a situation in which their health is endangered, by failing to provide either adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care. General neglect means negligent failure of a person having custody of care of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision, but where no physical injury has occurred.

Willful cruelty or unjustifiable punishment of a child means a situation where someone causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon, unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or permits the person or health of a child for whom they have custody or care to be endangered (State, 2004). Sexual abuse means sexual assault or sexual exploitation. Sexual assault includes rape, statutory rape, rape in concert, incest, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts upon a child, oral co

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to the parent, and is again being removed for abuse; that the parent has caused the death of another child; that there has been sexual abuse or severe physical harm to the child; that the parent willfully abandoned the child; that the parent has been convicted of a felony; that the parent has a history of extensive, abusive and chronic use of drugs or alcohol and has resisted treatment for this pr0oblem; and that the parent has abducted the child from his or her placement and refused to disclose the child's whereabouts (State, 2004). Other factors involved in determining if a child should be returned to the parents include whether or not the child wishes to be reunited with the parent; the likelihood that the child can safely be returned to the parent; history of abuse of other children; the severity of emotional trauma to the child or the child's siblings by the abuse; the circumstances of the abuse; and the specific abuse (State, 2004). Permanency options for foster children include reunification; adoption; placement with an appropriate and willing relative; legal guardianship; long-term foster care, subject to periodic review by the court; and another planned permanent living arrangement. In California in 2002, the Depar

Category: Government - C