Poverty’s role: Experts see nuances, caution against quick conclusions

If you think there’s a link between poverty and child abuse or child neglect, you’re probably typical. More than half the people polled recently in Spokane and Kootenai counties said they believe there’s a connection.

You – and they – are probably right. But that’s not the same as saying poor people are worse parents or that rich people never abuse and neglect their children, those who work in child welfare caution.

It also does not mean the poor are more likely to commit certain types of abuse, such as child sexual abuse.

But there is a belief among many involved in child welfare that some of the factors that accompany poverty – lack of education, lack of adequate health care, poor access to child care – along with the stress that poverty places on a family creates an environment where abuse and neglect can surface.

“Poverty is a huge driver,” said Dee Wilson, director of the Northwest Institute for Children and Families. “If you ignore it, you don’t wind up with the right services out there.”

Slightly more than half the respondents to a pair of recent surveys – 51 percent of those contacted in Spokane County and 54 percent in Kootenai County – said they believed that child abuse and child neglect were either “much greater” or “somewhat greater” in poor families. About one in five told pollsters for Research 2000 that it had no bearing on those conditions and only about one in eight said it was either “much less” or “somewhat less” among poor families.

In the survey, conducted in late March for The Spokesman-Review, KXLY, KSPS and KHQ, men were slightly more likely than women to say they believed there was a connection between poverty and abuse and neglect. Those without children in the home were slightly more likely to draw the connection than those who do have children in the home. But in each group, more than half said they believe a connection exists.

Studies would likely support that majority view, but not because poverty causes child abuse, said Joan Sharp, executive director of the Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Rather, abuse and neglect can be an effect of it.

“It’s more complicated than ‘Are poor people good parents?’ ” said Sharp. “The data does support that if you are in poverty, that’s a risk factor.”

Sharp said the relationship is stronger between poverty and neglect than poverty and abuse. And it’s very possible that police and child welfare agencies look harder for evidence of abuse or neglect when investigating a complaint involving a poor family.

The connection between poverty and child abuse or neglect has been debated for decades: Is it the fault of the family, or is it the fault of society?

For much of the second half of the 20th century, many people adopted the view that child abuse and child neglect were the fault of the parents, said Dorothy Roberts, of the Northwestern University School of Law and author of the book “Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare.” Because of that, they failed to recognize the role economic conditions play.

“We have to see that there’s a connection between economic deprivation and taking care of kids,” Roberts said. “If we reduce economic deprivation, we can reduce child abuse and neglect, but that can’t be done just by families.”

Parents are responsible, she said, but they aren’t solely responsible.

“The view that ‘It’s all the part of the parents’ has been dangerous in shaping child welfare policies,” she said. That view makes it easier to remove a child from a home and put him or her in foster care, and is similar to the mindset that results in more minority children being removed from their homes than white children.

“The ones who are placed in foster care are the ones with the fewest resources,” Roberts said.

Darlene Townsend, a Spokane psychotherapist, is leery of drawing too strong a connection between poverty and abuse.

“There are some elements where that stereotype may be valid … particularly poverty induced by drug or alcohol abuse,” Townsend said. “People who are just poor don’t, in greater numbers, abuse their children.”

She also worries about the flip side of the stereotype, which can lead people to say that abuse or neglect can’t be happening because a family is well off. As a medical professional, Townsend is a “mandated reporter,” someone who is required by law to notify Child Protective Services if she suspects child abuse or neglect involving patients or their families.

She said she’s had CPS workers balk at investigating a case by saying “this address is in a really nice area.”

She also thinks some upper-income people have the interpersonal and communications skills to cover up abuse or neglect when it occurs. They can hire attorneys and wage a stronger fight against an attempt by the state to remove their children.

“They can talk very well about all the wonderful things they are doing for their children, so (the children) can’t possibly be being abused,” Townsend said.