Picture this: six weeks ago, you gave birth to your first child. While on leave from work, you start seeking out day care facilities to provide care for your little bundle of joy when you return to your job. The thought of having to leave your child for the first time is a very scary experience. As a new parent, you have to trust that someone will provide adequate care for your new little baby, and you won’t be able to monitor that care on a moment-to-moment basis. As you research and visit places, there are many factors to take into consideration, such as the type of facility, the level of monitoring given to each individual child, the qualifications of the staff, the cost of care, and other factors.

As you venture into this new world, it is important to understand the concept of out-of-home care neglect. As you will see in the next few pages, it is important to make well-informed decisions with respect to the individuals and facilities that will be providing day-to-day care for your loved ones. In the event that some type of neglect occurs with respect to your child, your local county children services board or child protective services unit will likely become involved, thus complicating your already hectic life.

Next, we’ll look at the definition of a neglected child.

So, what exactly is a neglected child? Well, the actual legal definition of a neglected child varies from state to state. Let’s use the statute from the state of Ohio as an example. According to Section 2151.03(A) of the Ohio Revised Code, a neglected child is any child: (1) who is abandoned by the child’s parents, guardian, or custodian; (2) who lacks adequate parental care because of the faults or habits of the child’s parents, guardian, or custodian; (3) whose parents, guardian, or custodian neglects the child or refuses to provide proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical or surgical care or treatment, or other care necessary for the child’s health, morals, or well being; (4) whose parents, guardian, or custodian neglects the child or refuses to provide the special care made necessary by the child’s mental condition; (5) whose parents, legal guardian, or custodian have placed or attempted to place the child in violation of sections 5103.16 and 5103.17 of the Ohio Revised Code; (6) who, because of the omission of the child’s parents, guardian, or custodian, suffers physical or mental injury that harms or threatens to harm the child’s health or welfare; or (7) who is subjected to out-of-home care child neglect.

In this specific article, we are going to set our focus on 2151.03(A)(7)—a child who is subjected to out-of-home care neglect. Out-home-care, as defined in Section 2151.011(B)(27), "means detention facilities, shelter facilities, certified children’s crisis care facilities, certified foster homes, placement in a prospective adoptive home prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption, organizations, certified organizations, child day-care centers, type A family day-care homes, child care provided by type B family day-care home providers and by in-home aides, group home providers, group homes, institutions, state institutions, residential facilities, residential care facilities, residential camps, day camps, public schools, chartered nonpublic schools, educational service centers, hospitals, and medical clinics that are responsible for the care, physical custody, or control of children." As you can see, out-of-home care includes child day-care centers, day camps, and a variety of schools—the very facilities you are likely to send your children to on a day-to-day basis.

Next, we’ll look at the concept of out-of-home care neglect in more detail.

The "out-of-home care" provision was essentially enacted to provide adequate protection for those children who spend a significant amount of time being cared for by out-of-home care providers. As more and more parents returned to the workforce on a full-time basis, especially new mothers, more and more children began spending a significant amount of their days being cared for in facilities such as day care facilities, day camps, and other similar settings. In response to the ever-growing number of children who spend their days in the care of individuals other than their parents or legal custodians, many states began enacting these "out-of-home care" provisions to ensure that adequate protection was in place.

So, what exactly does this mean for you as a parent? Well, technically speaking, such a provision insinuates that if a parent or custodian is at fault in their selection of an out-of-home care provider, that parent is liable for civil neglect. Under such a situation, the local county children services board or child protective services unit could file a complaint in Juvenile Court. Once a child is found to be a neglected child, a wide array of options may be available in terms of disposing of the case. In fact, in extreme circumstances, the child could be removed from the home of his or her parents or custodians, and placed into the care of someone else, including foster care. Let’s use a hypothetical situation to flesh this concept out.

Let’s assume that a mother and father choose an in-home day-care provider to provide care for their son, Jack. The provider is a friend of the family who is licensed to supply such services. Let’s also assume that the mother and father know that this provider uses illegal substances on a daily basis, including during the daylight hours when she is caring for other parents’ children. Despite knowing this information, Jack’s parents decide to allow this person to care for their son. One day, the day-care provider passes out as a result of using crack-cocaine while caring for Jack. Jack crawls out the front door of the provider’s house and into the street. A neighbor sees the child in the street and calls the police, who then call the local county children services board upon arrival.

Here, Jack’s parents knew that the provider used illegal substances while providing such care for the children. Their decision to allow this person to care for their child was a poor decision that amounts to neglect. Under these circumstances, the state could conclude that the parents are not providing proper parental care for their child, and he should be removed from their custody. This is an example of an extreme situation where this portion of the child neglect statute would be implicated.

Finally, we’ll wrap this article up by going over a few key points.

In this article, we’ve explored the concept of out-of-home care neglect. This is an important legal term to understand, especially if you are a parent or custodian who is in the process of placing your child at a daycare facility, day camp, or even school, like most other hardworking parents in the U.S.

As you venture into this world, it is important to understand the concept of out-of-home care neglect. As you have read, it is important to make well-informed decisions with respect to the individuals and facilities that will be providing day-to-day care for your loved ones.

In the event that some type of neglect occurs with respect to your child, you could be at risk of losing your full range of parental rights. This article was not intended to deter you from placing your child into the care of outside facilities. This article should encourage you to thoroughly research your options in order to ensure that there is no fault upon you as a parent. Remember, making good choices with respect to your children is the greatest gift you can give them.