The inspection, led by the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland, examined children's services provided by the Moray Community Planning Partnership between August and October.
Out of nine key indicators of performance, five were rated as adequate and four as weak.
Inspectors found children at immediate risk of harm were being protected.
However, those experiencing neglectful parenting were exposed to risk for too long before decisive action was taken.
The main areas of weakness related to management and in some cases how services worked together.
The Moray Community Planning Partnership said hard work was being done since the inspection and it was confident of being on the right track.
Important improvements need to be made to services for children and young people in Moray, inspectors have said.