In Kansas currently spanking is allowed but it crosses the line and become child abuse when it leaves a mark. Kansas is one of a handful of states where corporal punishment is legal in schools. Democratic state representative, Gail Finney, aimed to expand that definition of corporal punishment by making it legal to spank and […]
The ABA House of Delegates met last Monday, February 10, 2014, at the Midyear Meeting in Chicago, Illinois to debate and vote on a wide range of public policy issues. One Resolution on the table, which was submitted by the Commission on Youth at Risk, “urges governments to enact and implement legislation and policies which […]
A Wisconsin man and his wife were sentenced to five years each for imprisoning their teenage daughter in their basement for six years. Apparently the father testified during trial that he tried to get his daughter to become a ward of the state because he could not care for her. The couple’s justification for imprisoning […]
From Elinda Labropoulou and Laura Smith-Spark at CNN: About 10 cases of missing children are “being taken very seriously” in connection with the suspected abduction of a girl by a Roma couple in Greece, a spokesman for a Greek children’s charity said Tuesday. “They include children from the United States, Canada, Poland and France,” said […]
“Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” ― Dean Koontz, False Memory Several programs exist across the country in which prosecutors and defense counsel use professionally trained dogs to help ease the anxiety juveniles experience while […]
On September 1, 2013, HB 1227/SB 963 went into effect. This new law requires that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) allow the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) assigned to an individual case to have electronic access to that DFPS case file. In addition, CASA can upload documents to the DFPS case file. San Antonio CASA […]
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has published an extensive new report on child abuse and neglect. Below is a summarized version of some of the report’s findings… Elevated Risk Environments The study highlights factors that create an “elevated risk” for child abuse and neglect to occur. Factors with the strongest support in scientific research and literature include: […]
ABA Journal picked up on a fascinatingly disturbing new trend some parents are taking advantage of when their foreign adoptions aren’t working out: put them up for sale. Adopting a child requires, at minimum, court approval and legal paperwork. Abandoning a child, biological or adopted, can result in civil liability or even criminal charges. Traditionally, […]
From Patricia Kilday Hart at the Houston Chronicle: In a 107-page opinion citing deficiencies in the Texas foster care system, a Corpus Christi federal judge this week paved the way forward for a classaction challenge to the state’s system of caring for abused and neglected children. Judge Janis Jack, of the U.S. Southern District, certified […]
Man Wanted in Custody Case Returning to Oklahoma, www.abcnews.com The father of a Cherokee Indian girl mired in an adoption dispute was ordered to leave an Iowa National Guard base and return to Oklahoma, an Iowa Guard spokesman said Sunday. Brown, who is Cherokee, is charged with custodial interference involving his 3-year-old daughter, Veronica. A […]
Metro Atlanta Backslides on Protecting Kids in Foster Care, childrensrights.org As Georgia experiences major changes in its child welfare leadership, new data shows that metropolitan Atlanta’s effort to protect abused and neglected children in foster care has suffered. According to the latest report from federal court monitors, the performance of the Department of Family and […]
After lunch, the 12th Annual Zealous Advocacy Conference continued with Kim Dvorchak giving an uplifting update on juvenile law legislative changes around the country, focusing on the ability of juvenile defenders to advocate for change in their home states. Both David Domenici and Kim Dvorchak recommended the National Conference of State Legislatures: Trends in Juvenile […]
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