The family is the primary source of support and caregiving for the frail, dependent elder, providing emotional support, logistical services, supplemental finances, and the link to the outside community for the homebound elder. The caregiving systems of 84 of Texas's Adult Protective Services' (APS) cases were examined. The definition of neglect that was used was neutral in attribution, referring neither to self nor caregiver responsibility nor to active or passive intention. Case studies examined what caseworkers found entering the situation; what intervention was chosen; how the elder and family responded; and what the outcome was. The neglected elder is one whose needs are not adequately met in one or more of these areas: personal care, nutrition, medical care, or condition of the environment. Whether inadequate care was due to self-neglect or caregiver neglect was not always easy to determine. Case analyses resulted in five profiles of situations and problems that describe why caregiving systems seemed to fail: (1) the caregivers were overwhelmed; (2) the elder refused care; (3) caregivers were more interested in their own gain than in the elder's welfare; (4) the caregiving system was dysfunctional due to poor relationships or difficult personalities; and (5) the elder was alone and had no one on whom to rely. Interventions ranged from caregiver support; emergency action, including forced removal; and general assistance. Caseworkers felt the most critical need was for greater resources, increasing what was already in place, more emergency funds, and more medical services. The need for more preventive services was also emphasized. Abuse and neglect were thought to be the result of multifaceted problems which required multiagency resolution. (ABL)