ABSTRACT
Barbara, a sixteen-year-old mother of a baby, is on public assistance, and lives alone in one room. She dropped out of school when she became pregnant, her family and the father of the baby have abandoned her, and her only social contact is a neighbor who works during the day. One afternoon the young mother, lonesome and depressed, went out for an hour and left the baby alone. The baby fell off the bed and cut his head on an object, seriously injuring himself. When Barbara returned home she took him to the hospital, where the doctor in the emergency room, suspecting child abuse (maybe neglect?), referred her to the child welfare agency.
