Nearly all of the indicators of child neglect are also indicators of poverty: lack of food, inadequate housing, unlicensed childcare, unreliable transportation, utility shutoffs, homelessness, lack of health care. “The vast, vast majority of cases are neglect, stem[ming] from people who have difficult, unsafe neighborhoods to live in,” said Catherine Volponi, director of the Juvenile Court Project, which provides pro bono legal support for parents facing CYF investigation or termination of their parental rights. “We have housing issues, we have inadequate medical care, we have drugs and
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