Child neglect reports occur at a consistently higher rate than reports of other types of maltreatment. Black children are overrepresented in child neglect reporting and substantiation, which reflect compounded risk factors of poverty, and anti-Black institutional bias in child protection systems. This paper will share the lived experiences of and draw from conversations with child welfare workers who are survivors of “neglect.” In addition, it will examine through literature reviews and research the history and biased legacy of child welfare in America, as well as the vast and vague definitions of neglect, which influence an uneven mandatory reporting system. While there is federal legislation providing minimum standards to states on how to define child neglect, these standards are broad and contribute to states’ varying authority in how to make child neglect determinations, thus giving local authorities room for racial subjectivity in child neglect substantiation and removal of Black children. This paper seeks to identify trends in child neglect legal definitions across the United States and discuss how child neglect laws and language target Black children. Connections to historical anti-Black racism in child neglect are also examined. Additionally included are recommended changes in the language and a challenge to the federal government to more clearly define child neglect, establishing a consistent standard for all states and locales that uphold equitable treatment of Black children in child neglect investigations.
