Displaying 11 - 20 of 210
Abstract
Indigenous children are overrepresented in child protection systems in the United States and to an even greater degree in Canada. Canada has recently passed federal child welfare legislation, Bill C-92, with the goal of affirming the rights of Indigenous Peoples and establishing guidelines with respect to child and family services for Indigenous children. The aim of this article is to contribute to ongoing discussions about the recently passed Canadian legislation, drawing on lessons learned in the United States context. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), passed in the United…
Summary
LGBTQ-headed families face a complicated legal landscape when it comes to legal recognition. The 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling , permitting same-sex couples nationwide to marry, substantially shifted the legal landscape for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) parents. Many families now have access to legal recognition through joint adoption, stepparent adoption, and the long-held legal presumptions of parentage for children born to married parents. Yet access to marriage has not fully created the necessary legal protections for the diverse ways in which LGBTQ-…
Australian Indigenous Advocates have long sought the passage of Indigenous child-welfare legislation similar to the United States’s Indian Child Welfare Act. Recently, the Australian government has indicated it is receptive to the enactment of such legislation. However, an Australian version of the ICWA is not as simple as it sounds. The legal status of the Indigenous communities of Australia and American Indian tribes is vastly different thus, many of the ICWA’s provisions, particularly those based on a recognition of Indigenous sovereignty, would require significant modifications before…
Abstract
Although stepfamilies exist in some form in nearly every country in the world, they are most common in Western countries. This paper provides a summary of laws, policies, and programs pertaining to stepfamilies in a selection of Western countries, with a special focus on the United States. Although stepfamilies have been prevalent throughout the West for decades, they remain “incompletely institutionalized,” and governments have been slow to address their needs and concerns. There is large variation across Western countries with respect to how stepfamilies are treated under the…
This series of articles from Rise Magazine shares parents’ perspectives and recommendations for strengthening families without surveillance and through community. "Too often, when families are struggling, school personnel, doctors and police are quick to call a hotline instead of connecting us to resources and support," says the introductory article.
This series—which begins with a focus on schools— exposes the harm of punishing parents instead of addressing the root causes of child welfare involvement in the U.S. The series provides information that parents can use to advocate…
Abstract
In response to the ongoing call for a complex systems approach for understanding and informing child welfare practice and policy, this article presents a context-specific conceptual framework that combines complexity theory and network analysis. The conceptual framework rests on the complementary nature of these theoretical and methodological concepts for inter-organizational child welfare practice. Potential applications of this framework are discussed to promote network-oriented research that informs effective collaboration among organizations serving children and families.
More than half a million US children spend time in foster care each year, and combined federal, state, and local expenditures on foster care services approach $15 billion annually. Yet, foster care remains a widely controversial and poorly regarded intervention to protect children exposed to abuse or neglect. This volume provides an in-depth examination of the history and goals of the foster care system, how and why it fails to adequately meet children’s needs, and what it would take to actualize meaningful improvements in children’s experiences and outcomes. We challenge prevailing…
Abstract
This chapter of Foster Care and Best Interests of the Child provides a review and analysis of the “best interests of the child” standard in foster care policy and practice. Specifically, we discuss whether and how the “best interests” standard is applied to decisions about whether children enter foster care, where they are placed, and how they exit foster care. We assess concerns about the subjectivity of the “best interests” standard and provide…
Abstract
This survey of the statutory provisions and case law of all 50 states and the District of Columbia includes the rights of children to parental support, inheritance, and familial association remaining upon termination of parental rights. A majority of states terminate all the child’s rights at the time parental rights are severed. However, a number of states by explicit statutes or statutory construction have determined that a child’s rights to parental support survives termination of parental rights. This survey examines the prevailing law in each state and suggests statutory…
This brief identifies the steps necessary to realize an integrated system of care, reviews two current approaches, and makes recommendations—including specifying policy reforms that would promote interagency collaboration, integration, service delivery, and improved outcomes for California’s children, both with and without disabilities. As a full commitment from the state administration is necessary to realize the proposed solutions at scale, this brief recommends the formation of a statewide interagency leadership council that has legitimacy, decision-making authority, and accountability…