Child Abuse and Neglect by Parents With Disabilities: A Tale of Two Families

Abstract

Two families, in which the children had been placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect by parents who had disabilities, were studied. In the first case, the mother was instructed in skills that our assessment suggested were important for her child's survival. The mother readily acquired and applied these skills, a fact reflected both in changes in her behavior and in changes in the child's well-being. In the second case, the parent's incremental resumption of child custody was made contingent upon completion of relevant parenting tasks. Initially, improvements in the completion of such tasks were evident, but over time and with the onset of militating factors, no further progress was made and all parental rights were terminated. The implications of these cases for behavior analysis and the effort to reunite and preserve families are discussed.DESCRIPTORS: child welfare and neglect, parent training, mentally retarded parents, family preservation Extreme opinions are often held about the competence of parents with developmental and other disabilities, especially mental retardation. At one extreme, such parents are presumed to be incapable of providing minimally adequate care for their children. At the other, any question whatsoever about the competence of parents with disabilities to care for their children is met with indignation and outrage. Therefore, when these parents perpetrate child abuse and neglect, the debate over their rights versus their competence to raise children is often particularly acrimonious.The resolution of child abuse and neglect cases involves caseworkers, service providers, juvenile or family courts, and attorneys for the state, parent, and child. Their collective actions are supposed to be guided by a complex, and sometimes conflicting, mix of federal and state (and sometimes county) law and regulations.We are grateful for the assistance of Donna

B. F. Skinner’s utopian vision: Behind and beyond Walden Two

“…Many applied behavior analysts have also worked to prevent such important social ills as sexual abuse, abduction, and child abuse and neglect through procedures that include behavioral skills training and feedback (e.g., Greene, Norman, Searle, Daniels, & Lubeck, 1995;Miltenberger et al, 1999;Miltenberger & Thiesse-Duffy, 1988;Tertinger, Greene, & Lutzker, 1984), as well as ecobehavioral approaches that stress the importance of variables within the family and local community (e.g., socioeconomic status, family stressors; see Lutzker & Campbell, 1994). More recently, behavioral approaches to parent training have been used to prevent abuse and promote the well-being of foster children (e.g., Van Camp, Borrero, & Vollmer, 2003).…”

B. F. Skinner's utopian vision: behind and beyondwalden two

“…Returning to a health-related theme, research has demonstrated how to use prompts, incentives, and problem-solving procedures to increase low-income families' use of dental services (Reiss & Bailey, 1982). Many applied behavior analysts have also worked to prevent such important social ills as sexual abuse, abduction, child abuse, and neglect through procedures that include behavioral skill training and feedback (Greene, Norman, Searle, Daniels, & Lubeck, 1995;Miltenberger, et al, 1999;Miltenberger & Thiesse-Duffy, 1988;Tertinger, Greene, & Lutzker, 1984), as well as an ecobehavioral approach that stresses the importance of ecological variables within the family and local community (e.g., socioeconomic status, family stressors; Lutzker & Campbell, 1994). More recently, behavioral approaches to parent training have been used to prevent abuse and promote the well-being of foster children (Van Camp, Borrero, & Vollmer, 2003).…”

Handbook of Child Abuse Research and Treatment

“…The practice may have its roots in the mystique and presumed relevance of psychological opinion, the dubious assumption that psychological assessment results are predictive of minimally adequate parenting, or the absence of any better alternative. In any case, the practice may become more widely challenged as more direct measures of parenting competence are developed and as evidence mounts that psychological conditions or diagnoses (e.g., mental retardation) do not necessarily preclude such competence (d. Greene, Norman, Searle, Daniels, & Lubeck, 1995).…”

“…ON THE BASIS OF ESTABLISHED STANDARDS: THE EXAMPLE OF NUTRITIOUS MEALS Greene et al (1995) reported an experimental case study of a developmentally disabled mother (IQ = 71) and her son who had been repeatedly hospitalized for failure to thrive. There is evidence that such parents are at particular risk for losing custody of their children, in part because of cultural biases regarding their parenting ability (Taylor, Norman, Murphy, [ellinek, Quinn, Poitrast, & Goshko, 1991).…”

“…Over a period oftwo years, the parent was instructed in a broad range of child care skills (Greene et al, 1995). Of particular interest here is the assessment conducted to determine the adequacy of the food that the parent provided.…”