The Appropriateness and Utility of a Child-Focused View of Jeopardy

Abstract

The characterization of young children with handicaps and developmental delays as a group in jeopardy for abuse and neglect often is based on methodologically flawed incidence reports and poor methods of calculation. A concept of jeopardy that is based on child characteristics may result in a child-focused view of maltreatment that ignores family and environmental factors that also contribute to abuse and must be considered in an assessment of risk. This paper questions the appropriateness and utility of characterizing infants and young children who are handicapped or developmentally delayed as a group in jeopardy for abuse and neglect. It proposes the adoption of a family-focused view of jeopardy, which considers child, family, and environmental variables to determine risk and provide services to abusive and neglectful families with young children who are handicapped or developmentally delayed.