When Should I Be Concerned About Someone’s Parenting? What Can We Do to Help?

Exploring Case Studies in Child Neglect

We all became mental health professionals for a reason: we want to help.

However, helping can be complicated, especially when it comes to families. It’s

hard to distinguish problematic parenting from child maltreatment. Poverty and

substance use disorders can make it more difficult to evaluate a situation. As

mental health professionals, it is even more complicated, because we’re legally

obligated to report certain suspicions to child protective services. This session

was developed to help you understand the considerations you should make

when you have a concern about someone’s parenting. We’ll explore common

case studies to identify practical strategies for intervention with families that

meet our legal and ethical obligations.