This book examines three core foci of interest of both practitioners as well as academics in the area of the protection of human rights of children. The first two are the international legal documents of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRe and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The third focal point consists of an investigation into a specific area of jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the protection of human rights of children: the phenomenon of the corporal punishment and abuse of children in the UK. The analysis concludes that both the CRC and the ECHR are characterised by various flaws and drawbacks in relation to the protection of children's human rights. The narrow textual scope of the ECHR and the significant weaknesses of the CRC regarding its implementation mechanism are two prominent examples. The paper suggests that in Europe, the trend of maximising the potential of the ECHR by combining the widely accepted, detailed standards on children's rights set out in the UN Convention with the highly successful system of individual petition and implementation should be strengthened further.

Providing a detailed analysis of the legal principles in England & Wales, this book looks at governing compensation claims for the lasting trauma caused by child abuse. Its pages discuss the merits and demerits of different forms of action as mechanisms for imposing liability for abuse, how compensable psychiatric damage can be proved and how the law deals with complex issues of duty of care, causation and extending limitation periods in the context of abuse cases. Whilst a substantial portion of the book deals with civil claims by the abused for the psychological harm caused by the abuse, coverage also extends to litigation by other parties involved directly or indirectly in abuse allegations. Also included is a significant comparative element, drawing upon jurisdictions such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as a means of speculating how our own legal system might develop.

Child Welfare and the Law provides an overview of the child welfare and judicial systems in the USA. It examines the federal and state legislative and judicial foundations of modern child welfare practice; court decisions and their impact on the rights of birthparents, foster parents, and children; class action suits and their impact on child welfare; and the role of child welfare workers in the legal process. Appendices provide detailed instruction on conducting legal research and excerpts from a consent decree. The fully-updated third edition includes new chapters on adoption law and professional liability. The author has also expanded his original chapters on the rights of birth parents and foster parents and legal research strategies.

This book is the fifth in the Cambridge Socio-Legal Group series and it concerns the evolving notions and practices of kinship in contemporary Britain and the interrelationship of kinship, law and social policy. Assembling contributions from scholars in a range of disciplines, it examines social, legal, cultural and psychological questions related to kinship. Rising rates of divorce and of alternative modes of partnership have raised questions about the care and well-being of children, while increasing longevity and mobility, together with lower birth rates and changes in our economic circumstances, have led to a reconsideration of duties and responsibilities towards the care of elderly people. In addition, globalisation trends and international flows of migrants and refugees have confronted us with alternative constructions of kinship and with the challenges of maintaining kinship ties transnationally. Finally, new developments in genetics research and the growing use of assisted reproductive technologies may raise questions about our notions of kinship and of kin rights and responsibilities. The book explores these changes from various perspectives and draws on theoretical and empirical data to describe practices of kinship in contemporary Britain.

Opponents of same-sex marriage in the United States claim that allowing gays and lesbians to marry would undermine the institution of marriage, weaken family structures, and cause harm to children. Drawing from 17 years of data and experience with same-sex marriage in Scandinavia (in the form of registered partnerships), Gay Marriage: For Better or for Worse? is the first book to present empirical evidence about the effects of same-sex marriage on society. Spedale and Eskridge find that the evidence refutes conservative defense-of-marriage arguments and, in fact, demonstrates that the institution of marriage may indeed benefit from the legalization of gay marriage. If we look at the proof from abroad, the authors show, we must conclude that the sanctioning of gay marriage in the United States would neither undermine marriage as an institution, nor harm the wellbeing of our nation's children. "A very interesting book that people should read." --Bill O'Reilly, Host, The O'Reilly Factor "Whatever your views are now on same-sex marriage, this is the book to read to be informed about why same sex couples want legal recognition and what legal union means to them and to the larger community. Spedale and Eskridge give detailed accounts of the effects of registered partnerships in Scandinavia--and along the way, offer fascinating and engaging pictures of many people's lives." --Martha Minow, Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor, Harvard Law School "Spedale and Eskridge illuminate with remarkable even-handedness a debate that tends to generate more heat than light. They provide a cogent analysis of conservative arguments that same-sex matrimony threatens conventional marriage, and argue persuasively that enabling same-sex partners to marry may actually strengthen that beleaguered institution." --John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress "An important and timely contribution. It should be required reading for anyone interested in the future of families in America." --Martha Albertson Fineman, Robert W. Woodruff Professor, Emory Law School

"Divorce and Family Law in California" provides a clear, concise, and complete guide to divorce and family law in California. Topics covered include: Marriage, Divorce, Annulment, Legal Separation, Property, Debts, Spousal Support, Unmarried Couples, Paternity, Custody & Visitation, Child Support, Guardianship, Adoption, Dependent Children, Children's Names, Restraining Orders.

A California attorney since 1978, Bob Pickus works for the Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association in Oakland, addressing primarily the impact of divorce on retirement benefits. He also volunteers for the Volunteer Legal Services Corporation in Oakland, providing weekly divorce and family law clinics and follow-up services for low-income persons.

Divorce is the worst investment that both parties ever dreamed of, you cannot borrow money against it, but you can go broke because of it. So do it right This book is a MUST READ if you're starting (or even in the middle of) your divorce proceedings. It covers vital aspects of your divorce process. Aspects that if you don't address will cost you both financially and emotionally. This Book was written after two years of research by Alan Weiss together with some of Australia's top Family Law barristers. Written in an easy to read style, This Is Your Divorce (Not Your Lawyer's) is aimed squarely at normal people going through the often horrendous turmoil of divorce. This book is designed to give you an overall framework on how to manage your divorce. What are the common pitfalls when hiring a legal team, what to look out for in different phases of your proceedings. Remember this is your divorce, not your lawyer's. You need to be actively involved in how the process progresses and take control of your divorce. Your lawyer can and will advise you about many aspects, but in the end, you are ultimately responsible for making the decisions that will shape your future.

Unmarried heterosexual cohabitation is rapidly increasing in Britain and over a quarter of children are now born to unmarried cohabiting parents. This is not just an important change in the way we live in modern Britain; it is also a political and theoretical marker. Some commentators see cohabitation as evidence of selfish individualism and the breakdown of the family, while others see it as just a less institutionalised way in which people express commitment and build their families. Politically, 'stable' families are seen as crucial - but does stability simply mean marriage? At present the law in Britain retains important distinctions in the way it treats cohabiting and married families and this can have deleterious effects on the welfare of children and partners on cohabitation breakdown or death of a partner. Should the law be changed to reflect this changing social reality? Or should it - can it - be used to direct these changes? Using findings from their recent Nuffield Foundation funded study, which combines nationally representative data with in-depth qualitative work, the authors examine public attitudes about cohabitation and marriage, provide an analysis of who cohabits and who marries, and investigate the extent and nature of the 'common law marriage myth' (the false belief that cohabitants have similar legal rights to married couples). They then explore why people cohabit rather than marry, what the nature of their commitment is to one another and chart public attitudes to legal change. In the light of this evidence, the book then evaluates different options for legal reform.

The Family Court was a progressive reform of the 1970s. Now it is perhaps the most hated institution in Australia. In the first Quarterly Essay of 2005, John Hirst investigates what went wrong. This is a measured yet unsparing appraisal which interleaves individual cases with compelling legal and moral argument. Hirst takes us deep into the workings of the Court and the domestic apocalypses it sees every day. He explores the Court's fervour to uphold the best interests of the child no matter what and traces its chilling consequence- a court where malicious allegations regularly go unpunished. He notes the Court's enormous power over individual lives, as well as its self-proclaimed status as a 'caring court', and wonders at its ability to overlook the defiance of its own authority. In closing, he considers how to reform an institution that has bred antagonism and extremism and too often entrenched paranoia and despair. Lucid and urgent, 'Kangaroo Court' is a cautionary tale about the perils of high-mindedness when it comes to dealing with the breakdown of families. 'When Family Court judges talk piously of the 'caring court', I wish they could hear the roar of pain that their piety has caused.' - John Hirst, 'Kangaroo Court'

This self-help book is an in-depth look into the struggles of the Christian author as he fights through the debilitating pain of marital separation. His journey of faith, hope, and love, is both encouraging and extremely comforting. (Christian Religion)

In still another of God's fair lands a child entered the world, and he grew toward manhood vigorous and lusty; but he heeded not his parents' commands, and when his disobedience had been long continued, the fathers of the tribe decreed that he should be stoned to death, for so it was written in the sacred books. And as the youth was the absolute property of his parents, and as by common consent they had full liberty to deal with him as seemed good to them, they consented unto his death, that his soul might be saved alive, and the evening sun shone crimson on his dead body as it lay upon the sands of the desert.

A History of Child Protection in America is the first comprehensive history of American efforts to protect children from abuse and neglect. The book begins in colonial times and chronicles child protection into the twenty-first century. Among the important nineteenth century events detailed in these pages are the rise of orphanages for "dependent" children, the "orphan trains" operated by the New York Children's Aid Society, the birth of the juvenile court, the reforms of the Children's Progressive Era, and the dramatic rescue of Mary Ellen Wilson, which led to the creation of the world's first organization devoted entirely to child protection, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Twentieth century milestones include the gradual transition from private child protection societies to government operated child protection, the obscurity of child abuse from the 1920's to the 1960's, the "discovery" of child abuse in 1962, and the creation of the child protection system we know today.

No matter what your age, divorce is one of life’s greatest challenges. But while your parents, friends, and lawyers may be chock-full of advice, the truth is that young women who divorce today face a brand-new set of issues and possibilities far removed from those of women a generation before. If you’re looking for a fresh, empowering, and thoroughly modern guide to starting this new chapter of your life, Not Your Mother’s Divorce offers the ultimate roadmap—from wading through legal jargon to getting back into society—as told by your best girlfriends who’ve been there.

Based on the experiences of more than thirty women who divorced in their twenties and thirties without children, Not Your Mother’s Divorce offers camaraderie and practical counsel on:
Breaking the news to family and friends
Coping with sudden singledom—from living arrangements to changing your name
Protecting yourself financially and dividing your assets
Legalese 101—making the legal process work for you
Reentering the dating scene
How to handle encounters with your ex

Warm and insightful, Not Your Mother’s Divorce gives you the tools to find your way through this difficult time—and emerge a stronger, wiser, happier you.

CONTENTS Introduction Canada Quebec France Germany [Federal Republic] Great Britain Japan Scandinavian Countries

With the narrative force of an epic novel and the urgency of first-rate investigative journalism, this important book delves into the daily workings and life-or-death decisions of a typical American family court system. It provides an intimate look at the lives of the parents and children whose fate it decides. A must for social workers and social work students, attorneys, judges, foster parents, law students, child advocates, teachers, journalists and anyone who cares about our nation's children.

Child Protective Services practice is multifaceted and challenging, requiring professionals to make difficult decisions that profoundly impact children and families. This second edition of Helping in Child Protective Services: A Competency-Based Handbook is a comprehensive desk reference that serves as both a daily guide for workers and a training tool for supervisors and administrators. This invaluable resource provides CPS workers with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist vulnerable families, covering such key issues as assessment, decision making, intervention, child development, medical evaluation, accountability, and the legal framework of culturally responsive practice.

The handbook begins with a diary that describes a typical CPS case from initial report to case closure in order to illustrate the complexity of the CPS system and the situations CPS workers might encounter. The book also covers the history of CPS and the laws governing intervention when children are mistreated. Specifically, this handbook helps CPS professionals and students explore the casework process from intake through case closure with step-by-step instructions and examples; learn about child development, key developmental milestones, and the importance of intervention; understand the medical evaluation of child abuse and neglect through a detailed guide of various forms and indicators of abuse and neglect; learn how to structure interviews and phrase questions to obtain information from families and guide the casework process; and understand the importance of accountable practice to families, their agencies, and the public.

This latest edition of Helping in Child Protective Services compiles the most up-to-date research and practice information to help professionals provide the highest quality and most innovative services to children and families.

Courts today seek to involve both parents in a child's life rather than choosing between them. Mediation and education have replaced the courtroom as the primary forum for resolving parental disputes. This book provides an overview of these trends in law, conflict resolution and mental health and the empirical research that supports them. It analyzes the principle challenges facing the child custody court of today: assuring the safety of parents and children from violence and providing access to justice and services. It examines how the roles of key courtroom players - judges, lawyers for both parents and children and mental health professionals - must change to promote the best interests of children. The book concludes with an agenda for reform of the child custody court based on interdisciplinary collaboration that can help courts meet the needs of twenty-first century parents and children.

This book is concerned with the regulation of family relationships,in particular the issue of openness and contact in the many different family situations in which it may arise. The shift towards a presumption of contact, and its articulation within diverse fields of family law and practice raises a whole series of questions which this book seeks to explore. For example: Why has the contact presumption emerged? What is meant by contact, and with whom. What is the value and purpose of it? What makes it work or not work? What is the role of law and other forms of external intervention in promoting, regulating or facilitating contact and to what extent should 'familial' relationships be subject to state regulation? More broadly, what can we infer about current conceptualisations of family, parenting (and the relative importance of social and biological parenthood) and childhood from policy and practice towards contact? These and other questions were explored in a series of seminars organised by the Cambridge Socio-Legal Group in 2002. The book is the product of these seminars. Andrew Bainham, Belinda Brooks-Gordon, Ann Buchanan, Shelley Day Sclater, Judy Dunn, John Eekelaar, Bob Geldof, Jonathan Herring, Claire Hughes, Joan Hunt, Adrian James, Julie Jessop, Felicity Kaganas, Bridget Lindley, Mavis Maclean, Joanna Miles, Katrin Mueller-Johnson, Elsbeth Neil, Jan Pryor, Martin Richards, Bob Simpson, Donna Smith, Liz Trinder

IIn 1973, a young ACLU attorney filed a controversial class-action lawsuit that challenged New York City’s operation of its foster-care system. The plaintiff was an abused runaway named Shirley Wilder who had suffered from the system’s inequities. Wilder, as the case came to be known, was waged for two and a half decades, becoming a battleground for the conflicts of race, religion, and politics that shape America’s child-welfare system.

The Lost Children of Wilder gives us the galvanizing history of this landmark case and the personal story at its core. Nina Bernstein takes us behind the scenes of far-reaching legal and legislative battles, but she also traces the life of Shirley Wilder and her son, Lamont, born when Shirley was only fourteen and relinquished to the very system being challenged in her name. Bernstein’s account of Shirley and Lamont’s struggles captures the heartbreaking consequences of the child welfare system’s best intentions and deepest flaws. In the tradition of There Are No Children Here, this is a major achievement of investigative journalism and a tour de force of social observation, a gripping book that will haunt every reader who cares about the needs of children.

As divorce rates in the United States reach alarming levels, the institution of marriage receives more and more criticism as an unrealistic endeavor. However, the contributors to this volume view marriage as a vital social institution, not merely one kind of intimate relationship. They argue for stronger support through legal and policy reform in order to strengthen for the benefit of individuals, communities, and the nation. The contributors address hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage, effects of divorce on children, and the role of fathers in addition to issues such as the permanence of marriage, covenant marriage, and the role of religion in marriage. This work brings together the work of respected legal scholars and social scientists, who articulate why we should care about strengthening the institution of marriage, what we can do, and what challenges we face.

Despite dramatic social change, marriage remains a critical social institution that promotes individual, family and community well being. The contributors to this book believe that marriage deserves our best efforts to revitalize it instead of a conscious agenda of benign neglect. Here, assembled in one place, is a clear pro-marriage research and policy agenda aimed at revitalizing this insitution based on principles of the best interests of children, husbands and wives, and society at large. Contributors from both the social sciences and legal studies illuminate critical issues from a variety of important perspectives, providing a comprehensive and respectful treatment of a timely and often divisive subject.

Divorcing Traditions is an ethnography of Islamic legal expertise and practices in India, a secular state in which Muslims are a significant minority and where Islamic judgments are not legally binding. Katherine Lemons argues that an analysis of divorce in accordance with Islamic strictures is critical to the understanding of Indian secularism. Lemons analyzes four marital dispute adjudication forums run by Muslim jurists or lay Muslims to show that religious law does not muddle the categories of religion and law but generates them. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research conducted in these four institutions-NGO-run women's arbitration centers (mahila panchayats); sharia courts (dar ul-qazas); a Muslim jurist's authoritative legal opinions (fatwas); and the practice of what a Muslim legal expert (mufti) calls "spiritual healing"-Divorcing Traditions shows how secularism is an ongoing project that seeks to establish and maintain an appropriate relationship between religion and politics. A secular state is always secularizing. And yet, as Lemons demonstrates, the state is not the only arbiter of the relationship between religion and law: religious legal forums help to constitute the categories of private and public, religious and secular upon which secularism relies. In the end, because Muslim legal expertise and practice are central to the Indian legal system and because Muslim divorce's contested legal status marks a crisis of the secular distinction between religion and law, Muslim divorce, argues Lemons, is a key site for understanding Indian secularism.

You never wanted to be in this position, but you are. Now, faced with the prospect of a custody dispute, you need to make smart choices. "Winning Custody "can help. this book-written by a woman who is an experienced psychotherapist, a mom, and a veteran of a bitter custody dispute-will help you find your way, maintain your sanity, and keep your kids from being caught in the custody cross fire.
"Winning Custody "is geared specifically toward women seeking custody of their children. It offers advice on how to navigate the complicated legal maze of the custody process, giving step-by-step guidance on:
-How to find a good-and affordable-lawyer
-What to wear in court (it's more important than you might think)
-How to effectively communicate with you ex
-How to parent your child firmly, lovingly, and consistently throughout the crisis period
-How to defuse your fears of losing your children
-And how to love and believe in yourself during this most difficult time