Out on a Limb, A Single Father's Guide to his Family's Lore of the Jungle, is a book that is not backward in coming forward, and nor can it afford to be. In the lives of modern Australian men many things are placed in the 'too-hard basket', and gaining the care of their kids after a divorce or separation is one of them. Written by a single father who journeyed into the jungle of family lore to find his son, this book contains simple and practical suggestions drawn from his experience and a chanced but valued conversation. It is not legal advice, nor is it gospel but what this contains is many answers to a multitude questions any single father on a similar journey will have. For when it's time for a father to make his journey through this jungle to find 'what's best for his kids', what he will discover is all he needs is some guidance, a lot of patience and a bit of help to reach an agreement. "Out on a Limb" is a much needed, practical, down-to-earth, easy read for any bloke battling to avoid a war and remain a father to his children. This book proves that strength is a virtue not a weapon, well done Simon." - Ian (Watto) Watson, (Founder of "Shed Happens" and author of "Every Bloke's a Champion... Even You " ) www.outonalimb.com.au

Do you fear your divorce will ruin your children's lives forever? Feeling helpless and overwhelmed with what to do or NOT to do with your children in regard to the divorce? Psychotherapist Dilyse Diaz created The Do's and Don'ts of Divorce as an invaluable blueprint to keep your sanity, protect your children, and live in peace. This tool kit provides crucial perspectives from children of divorce that will help you empathize with your own children, and alleviate your painful feelings of guilt, shame, and loss. More than ever, your children need security, support and stability. Your decision to invest in your lives will create the peace, love and encouragement that you all need to survive.

This book provides a comprehensive, cutting-edge look at the problems that impact the way we conduct intervention and treatment for youth in crisis today-an indispensable resource for practitioners, students, researchers, policymakers, and faculty working in the area of juvenile justice. Understanding Juvenile Justice and Delinquency provides a concise overview of the most compelling issues in juvenile delinquency today. It covers not only the range of offenses but also the offenders themselves as well as those impacted by crime and delinquency. All of the chapters contain up-to-date research, laws, and data that accurately frame discussions on youth violence, detention, and treatment; related issues such as gangs and drugs; the consequences for scholars, teachers, and students; and best practices in intervention methods. The book's organization guides readers logically from the broader definitions and parameters of the study of juveniles to the more specific. The volume leads with an explanation of the relationship between victimization and juvenile behavior and sets up boundaries of the arenas of delinquency-from the family to the streets to cyberspace. The book then focuses on more specific populations of offenders and offenses, including recent, emerging issues, offering the most accurate information available and cutting-edge insight into the issues that affect youth in custody and in our communities. Provides insights into juvenile justice from contributors and editors who have extensive experience in teaching, researching, and writing on the subject Represents an ideal teaching text for courses in juvenile justice-a staple topic in all criminology and criminal justice college programs Presents analysis and evaluation of techniques used and programs employed, enabling readers to be better advocates for law and policy impacting youth Includes discussion questions appropriate for classroom settings and lists of additional resources, related websites, and supporting films that guide students in investigating the subject further Supplies updated data and information on policy and law that will serve as a vital resource for students writing papers or scholars teaching in the field of juvenile justice

The abduction of a child by another family member is one of the most devastating crises that a parent could ever encounter. The impact on the abducted child is also traumatic, as he or she grapples with a host of feelings, above all, a sense of betrayal and loss of trust. Nor are these the only persons harmed by family abduction. Brothers and sisters, grandparents, and other extended family, as well as friends are also impacted. It is for these victims that The Crime of Family Abduction: A Child's and Parent's Perspective was written with the help of individuals with intimate knowledge of this crime. Protecting the well-being of children and their families lies at the very heart of the mission of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. We offer this resource in the hope that it will help victims and their families in coping with the aftermath of family abduction-a crime in every sense of the word. For when we minimize the criminal nature of any abduction, we maximize the trauma experienced by its victims. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that as many as 200,000 children are victims of family abduction each year. Although the majority of abducted children are taken not by a stranger, but by a parent or family member, the issue of family abduction remains laden with misconception and myth. Serious missing-child cases that have devastating effects on the child are too often seen as divorce and custody matters, something private that the public and law enforcement should not concern themselves with. The truth is that family abduction can be as physically dangerous and even deadly for the child victims as any other form of child abduction. Most often, however, the worst damage is imperceptible to the eye, occurring deep within the child, leaving traces that may last a lifetime. This publication offers insights into what it means to be abducted by a family member. Written from the perspective of the child and searching parent, it is designed to help you, the reader, understand the unique characteristics of family abduction and the nightmare that they have experienced. Although the individual circumstances surrounding the authors' cases show the multifaceted diversity of family abduction, the one thing they have in common is that they were all missing child cases. The child victims in these cases were concealed by their abductor, hidden not just from their searching family, friends, schools, and community but also from the justice and child protection systems. The six primary contributors to this document-four adults who were victims of family abduction as children and two searching parents-are active in the missing child community. The former abducted child contributors are members of Take Root, an organization composed of former abducted children that provides peer support and advocates on behalf of child victims. The parent contributors are either members of Team HOPE (Help Offering Parents Empowerment), a support network for parents of missing children, or active with nonprofit organizations that work around the issue of missing children. Misperceptions about family abduction can potentially cause further trauma to the abducted child. These misperceptions can also lead to an increase in the incidence and duration of family abductions. We hope that sharing these stories will provide a new understanding of the devastating psychological harm and physical dangers that children who are abducted and concealed by family members often face. Our objective is to increase understanding of the crime of family abduction and empower the reader to thoughtfully assist in the immediate and long-term recovery of a child. Whether you are the searching parent, an abducted or former abducted child, a family member, a professional responder, a neighbor, a teacher, or an advocate, you can begin to comprehend what is happening and why a child-centered response, as outlined throughout this book, is so important.

Since its inception, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has initiated and supported a broad range of research, demonstration, evaluation, and training and technical assistance initiatives to prevent and reduce gang crime. A central focus of these anti-gang efforts is to support community endeavors to provide youth with a safe environment in which to grow up. As part of that comprehensive initiative, OJJDP launched the Gang Reduction Program in 2003. The multimillion-dollar initiative was designed to reduce gang crime in targeted neighborhoods by incorporating research-based interventions to address individual, family, and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity. The program leveraged local, State, and Federal resources in support of community partnerships that implement progressive practices in prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry. Best Practices To Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model provides communities considering implementing the comprehensive gang model with critical information to guide their efforts. The Report describes the research that produced the model; outlines best practices obtained from practitioners with years of experience in planning, implementing, and overseeing variations of the model in their communities; and presents essential findings from evaluations of several programs that demonstrate the success of the model in a variety of environments. OJJDP commends the progress made in the demonstration sites, and we wish them continued success. We remain committed to assisting other communities in assessing their gang problems and developing a complement of anti-gang strategies and activities to address this complex challenge. This Report provides guidance for communities that are considering how best to address a youth gang problem that already exists or threatens to become a reality. The guidance is based on the implementation of the Comprehensive Gang Model (Model) developed through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and tested in OJJDP's Gang Reduction Program. The Report describes the research that produced the Model, notes essential findings from evaluations of several programs demonstrating the Model in a variety of environments, and outlines "best practices" obtained from practitioners with years of experience in planning, implementing, and overseeing variations of the Model in their communities. The Model and best practices contain critical elements that distinguish it from typical program approaches to gangs. The Model's key distinguishing feature is a strategic planning process that empowers communities to assess their own gang problems and fashion a complement of anti-gang strategies and program activities. Community leaders considering this Model will be able to call on the OJJDP Strategic Planning Tool at no cost (http: //www.iir.com/nygc/tool/default.htm). OJJDP's Socioeconomic Mapping and Resource Topography (SMART) system is another online resource available through the OJJDP Web site (go to http: //www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp, and select "Tools"). The main section of the Report presents best practices for the Comprehensive Gang Model and highlights results of a survey and a meeting of practitioners regarding their experiences in implementing the Model. This section contains specific practices that work best in a step-by-step planning and implementation process for communities using the Comprehensive Gang Model framework and tools.

Every year, hundreds of children in the United States are victims of international parental kidnapping- a child's wrongful removal from the United States, or wrongful retention in another country, by a parent or other family member. Parents and other family members left behind may be overwhelmed by feelings of loss, anguish, despair, and anger-as well as confusion and uncertainty about what can be done in response. In December 1999, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention invited a small group of left-behind and searching parents to participate in a planning and development meeting. Each one had experienced firsthand the heartbreak of having a child abducted to another country or wrongfully retained abroad. Some of them had recovered their children, while others had not. They willingly shared their knowledge of international parental kidnapping-gained at tremendous personal cost- to help other parents of abducted children understand what can be done to: Prevent an international parental kidnapping; Stop a kidnapping in progress; Locate a kidnapped or wrongfully retained child in another country; Bring an abductor to justice; Recover a kidnapped or wrongfully retained child from another country; Reestablish access to a child in another country. This guide imparts the group's practical wisdom and the hope that other parents will not have to experience the confusion and discouragement these parents did when it was not clear what to do or whom to turn to when their children were kidnapped. The group offered its suggestions for preventing international kidnapping and gave detailed advice to maximize the chance that children who are kidnapped or wrongfully retained will be returned to this country. The guide provides descriptions and realistic assessments of the civil and criminal remedies available in international parental kidnapping cases. It explains applicable laws and identifies both the public and private resources that may be called on when an international abduction occurs or is threatened. It gives practical advice on overcoming frequently encountered obstacles so that parents can get the help they need. The guide prepares parents for the legal and emotional difficulties they may experience and shares coping and general legal strategies to help them achieve their individual goals, whether they involve recovering a child or reestablishing meaningful access to a child in another country. Despite the difficulties that may lie ahead and the disappointment some parents may experience, it is important not to become discouraged. Stay hopeful. Many things can be done to prevent or to resolve an international parental kidnapping. This guide will help you organize your response.