Children's Rights

Court program bets on autistic kids

In 2018, Justice Sunny Bailey created the Detention Alternative for Autistic Youth. When autistic youths arrive in the Las Vegas 8th Judicial District court charged with crimes ranging from battery to sexual assault, they have the opportunity to go to DAAY Court, which connects those children and teens with the help they need free of charge.

Apr 23, 2024 10:55 AM CDT

SCOTUS declines to stay Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho to broadly enforce a ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the first time the justices have intervened on the contentious issue of transgender health treatments.

Apr 16, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Catholic student sues a Virginia school board over transgender protections

A Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools student is suing the school board, sayings its policy aimed at protecting the rights of transgender students violate the rights of others and violates the state constitution.

Mar 7, 2024 12:15 PM CST

LGBTQ organization sues Texas AG over youth transgender records probe

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) earlier this month demanded records pertaining to the support an LGBTQ+ nonprofit provides to families seeking gender-affirming care for their transgender children—a treatment the state banned last year.

Mar 1, 2024 11:05 AM CST

Use of ChatGPT to support fee bid is ‘utterly and unusually unpersuasive,’ federal judge says

A federal judge in New York City has reduced a law firm’s fee request by about half after criticizing its use of the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT-4 as a “cross-check” to determine prevailing market rates for attorneys.

Feb 27, 2024 8:20 AM CST

Protect trans and gender nonconforming students from forced outing, ABA House urges

The ABA House of Delegates on Monday passed a resolution aimed at protecting transgender and gender nonconforming students from forced outing policies.

Feb 5, 2024 4:59 PM CST

History and voices of marginalized communities belong in school curricula and should not be banned, ABA House says

Schools must be allowed and encouraged to include the experiences of marginalized communities in classrooms, along with access to books and resources reflecting their voices, the ABA says.

Feb 5, 2024 4:10 PM CST

Extra protections are needed for youths navigating immigration system, ABA House says

The federal government should better protect immigrant youths, and particularly immigrant youths of color, through the yearslong adjudication of their Special Immigrant Juvenile Status petition and adjustment of their status application to lawful permanent residence, the ABA House of Delegates said.

Feb 5, 2024 11:00 AM CST

Family Limbo: Movement to repeal a Clinton-era law sparks debate about foster care and adoption

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 sits at the center of a debate among legal scholars, attorneys and activists: Is this law in the best interest of children, or is it unjust and unconstitutional?

Feb 1, 2024 3:00 AM CST

Interested in policy supporting homeless youths? ABA group provides guidance

“Best practices have changed, and how this crisis unfolds itself is changing,” says Richard Hooks Wayman, a liaison to the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty. “We thought it was time to really pick up on what we’ve been learning in the field over the last 15 years and come out with a new publication.”

Jan 18, 2024 9:09 AM CST

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

Supreme Court declines to consider challenge to conversion-therapy ban; 3 justices would have heard case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a challenge to ban in Washington on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors, prompting dissents from three justices.

Dec 11, 2023 2:05 PM CST

Citing allegations of ‘unimaginable suffering’ by child sex-abuse survivors, judge allows class action against Pornhub

Updated: A federal judge in California has certified a class action lawsuit alleging that online pornography companies were willfully blind to child sexual-abuse material that appeared on their websites.

Nov 22, 2023 10:02 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

Christian student will receive $150K in suit alleging school meditation program included Hindu ritual

A former public school student who alleged that she was coerced to participate in a school meditation ritual that violated her Christian religious beliefs has accepted a $150,000 offer of judgment from the Chicago Board of Education and the foundation that developed the program.

Nov 7, 2023 9:08 AM CST