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Children & the Law

12 ABA Journal Children & the Law articles.

These 3 organizations are using innovative methods to help older youths in foster care

In our final story of the year for our Children & the Law series, we are focusing on the needs of older foster youths about to transition out of care and what supports and services make a difference in their lives. Here are three ways that organizations around the country are helping with this essential work.

Dec 18, 2023 8:22 AM CST

Family members who step in to care for children can get extra support with ABA guidance

In late September, the U.S. Administration for Children and Families published a rule urging child welfare agencies to develop different standards for grandparents, aunts and uncles or other kinship caregivers who step in to raise children who can no longer live with their parents. The ABA Center on Children and the Law is now working to assist these states.

Nov 8, 2023 3:10 PM CST

For 30 years, ABA Children’s Rights Litigation Committee has trained and supported kids’ lawyers

The Children’s Rights Litigation Committee “has just been a fantastic banger of the drum that kids need true representation, just like anyone else who’s inside a system that is making incredibly impactful decisions about their lives,” says Angela Vigil, the longest-serving member of the committee.

Sep 21, 2023 8:50 AM CDT

Family First: A group of Washington lawyers works to keep infants with their mothers

While family separations have long been the norm when treating babies born dependent on substances, recent research suggests allowing a mother to stay with and care for her infant significantly improves their health outcomes.

Sep 7, 2023 11:06 AM CDT

Passion for Justice: Northwestern law prof fights for juvenile rights armed with research

Julie Biehl, an ABA member since 2006, is known as a straight shooter, whose presence fills a room. “She’s a tiny woman, maybe 5’1”, but she is so fiery and so full of passion and just cares,” says Garien Gatewood, deputy mayor for community safety for the city of Chicago.

Sep 6, 2023 10:09 AM CDT

Shadow Foster Care: Children and caregivers in a 'hidden' system miss out on benefits and support

In formal foster care, child protective services agencies annually separate more than 250,000 children from their parents and place them in their state’s legal custody under the oversight of a family court judge. By some estimates, agencies separate the same number of children through hidden foster care but do so by suggesting parents transfer physical custody to a kinship caregiver, such as a grandparent or aunt.

Aug 1, 2023 3:30 AM CDT

Advocates support use of kinship caregivers in child welfare cases

Extensive research also shows many benefits to placing children with kinship caregivers if they are available. These include minimizing the trauma of family separation, increasing placement stability and improving behavioral outcomes.

Aug 1, 2023 12:05 AM CDT

Parental Penalties: Collateral consequences reverberate through families long after sentences are served

Parents, like all those returning from prison, face more than 40,000 statutes and regulations nationwide that make reentry into their communities a challenge. Many consequences are imposed indefinitely, impacting the family for the rest of the parent’s life, no matter how long they have been home or how well they reintegrate into society.

Jun 1, 2023 12:00 AM CDT

Rights Work: UChicago constitutional law course brings together incarcerated youths, law students

The eight-week class is designed to give incarcerated youths an opportunity to consider their rights while exposing the law students to the younger students’ worldview through in-class discussions on topics that include freedom of speech, due process and reproductive freedom, along with weekly mentoring sessions.

May 31, 2023 8:12 AM CDT

Taking Sides: Courts are grappling with how to handle claims of parental alienation

Parental alienation happens when one parent engages in behaviors that cause a child to reject the other parent for no legitimate reason. It can become the subject of fierce debate in high-conflict divorce cases when one parent claims the other parent intentionally turned a child against him or her.

Apr 1, 2023 4:00 AM CDT

Judge Ernestine Gray created a model court that put New Orleans children and families first

“You are impacting lives in a critical way,” says Judge Ernestine Gray about working in juvenile court. “And if you are talking about children who are growing up, it’s going to help determine where they are in the future. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘If I had done X for this child, maybe they could’ve done great things.’ So in the moment where you are, do the good work.”

Apr 1, 2023 1:20 AM CDT

Protection Services: Meet the lawyers and staff behind the ABA’s work in children’s law

Nearly 45 years after its founding, the ABA Center on Children and the Law has evolved into a midsize nonprofit with nearly 20 staff members who promote access to justice for children and families. The center now helps manage as many as 30 grant projects each year that focus on diverse areas of children’s law, including legal representation; foster care and education; kin and relative caregivers; child, adolescent and parental health; youth engagement; and state and court initiatives.

Feb 1, 2023 12:40 AM CST

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