Before the Best Interests of the Child


Book Description

The second volume in a classic trilogy of reference works often cited in child custody cases, which introduced the concept of the “least detrimental alternative” when addressing a child’s welfare. The second volume in a classic trilogy of works by Joseph Goldstein, former Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School; Albert J. Solnit, the former director of the Yale Child Study Center, and Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud. These texts (Beyond the Best Interests of the Child was the first in the series, and In the Best Interests of the Child was the third) are classic references often cited in child custody cases; Before the Best Interests of the Child specifically addresses when the state should intervene. Rather than the familiar legal "best interests of the child" doctrine, the authors’s work is based on the more realistic standard of finding the "least detrimental alternative." This is indispensable reading for social workers, family court judges, lawyers, psychologists, and parents.




Beyond the Best Interests of the Child


Book Description

Three distinguished authorities in law, psychiatry, and child development critically evaluate current child placement laws.




The Best Interests of the Child


Book Description

"The least detrimental alternative", the authors' seminal principle for safeguarding a child's growth and development by minimizing intrusions of the law, has been cited in more than 1,000 child custody cases since 1973.




Not in the Child's Best Interest


Book Description

You Can Protect Your Children in Divorce You can stop the divorce court from invading your privacy You can stop the illegal family studies You can limit the judges authority to rip your life apart You can stop the personal attacks on your parenting style You can stop the system from hurting your child You can stop the system from making you broke You can learn to protect those you love most The Divorce Industry takes BILLIONS of dollars from our children every single year! STOP THEM NOW! This book will give you the arguments, the legal framework for stopping the divorce custody machine dead in its tracks. This book will show you how to stop giving up your rights to your children. Your children need you in their lives. The most important thing you can do to give your child a future is to remain a full parent in their lives. To retain equal time to show them love and to teach them through your daily example. Children do best in life when they have two fit parents active in their lives. Your right to the care, custody and control over your child is a Fundamental Liberty, just as your right to free speech is, or your right to freedom of religion is a Fundamental Liberty. Your child has the right to associate with you and to have you as a parent, not a visitor, in their life. You and your child have privacy rights in your family life that are between you and your child as individuals. They do NOT come from the marriage, and, if you are a natural parent, they do NOT come from the Government. If you let them, the State will take your rights adn do with them what they please. Knowledge is Power! Know your Rights! Protect Your Children




The Best Interests of the Child in Healthcare


Book Description

Topical and compelling, this volume provides an excellent re-evaluation of the ‘best interests’ test in the healthcare arena; the ways in which it has developed, the inherent difficulties in its use and its interpretation in legal cases concerning the medical care of children. Comprehensively covering both the English and Scottish position within the context of the European Convention of human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the author examines a wide range of healthcare situations, from the commonly occurring to the unusual, offering a detailed analysis of legislation, case law, cases and their implications. It includes discussions on: the extent to which a child’s body can be examined, operated on and affected by medicines, devices or procedures intended to bring about medical change the appropriate scope of parental choice and authority and at what stage of their development children should be allowed to make their own decisions the response to situations where the interests of children may be in conflict – the cases of conjoined twins or the donation of organs to siblings. This work is a key resource for postgraduates and researchers working and studying in the fields of law, healthcare and medicine.




Foster Care and Best Interests of the Child


Book Description

This brief examines the U.S. foster care system and seeks to explain why the foster care system functions as it does and how it can be improved to serve the best interest of children. It defines and evaluates key challenges that undermine child safety and well-being in the current foster care system. Chapters highlight the competing values and priorities of the system as well as the pros and cons for the use of foster care. In addition, chapters assess whether the performance objectives in which states are evaluated by the federal government are sufficient to achieve positive health and well-being outcomes for children who experience foster care. Finally, it offers recommendations for improving the system and maximizing positive outcomes. Topics featured in this brief include: Legal aspects of removal and placement of children in foster care. The effectiveness of prior efforts to reform foster care. The regulation and quality of foster homes. Support for youth aging out of the foster care system. Racial and ethnic disparities in the foster care system. Foster Care and the Best Interests of the Child is a must-have resource for policy makers and related professionals, graduate students, and researchers in child and school psychology, family studies, public health, social work, law/criminal justice, and sociology.




The Best Interests of the Child


Book Description

This updated edition consolidates all child-centred legislation, from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through to the Referendum on Children's Rights 2012, in an easy-to-understand format.




No Way to Treat a Child


Book Description

Kids in danger are treated instrumentally to promote the rehabilitation of their parents, the welfare of their communities, and the social justice of their race and tribe—all with the inevitable result that their most precious developmental years are lost in bureaucratic and judicial red tape. It is time to stop letting efforts to fix the child welfare system get derailed by activists who are concerned with race-matching, blood ties, and the abstract demands of social justice, and start asking the most important question: Where are the emotionally and financially stable, loving, and permanent homes where these kids can thrive? “Naomi Riley’s book reveals the extent to which abused and abandoned children are often injured by their government rescuers. It is a must-read for those seeking solutions to this national crisis.” —Robert L. Woodson, Sr., civil rights leader and president of the Woodson Center “Everyone interested in child welfare should grapple with Naomi Riley’s powerful evidence that the current system ill-serves the safety and well-being of vulnerable kids.” —Walter Olson, senior fellow, Cato Institute, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies




Developmental Psychology for Family Law Professionals


Book Description

"[T]he best and most useful social science text I have read in a decadeÖ.It is comprehensive in its research and scope, clearly written and uses excellent case studies and examples to illustrate in simple terms what might otherwise be complex phenomena." --Dr. Tom Altobelli Federal Magistrate, Family Law Courts Sydney, Australia The goal of every family law professional and mental health practitioner is to improve family court outcomes in the best interests of the child. This book will assist readers in meeting this critical goal. Developmental Psychology for Family Law Professionals serves as a practical application of developmental theory to the practice of family law. This book helps family law and mental health professionals gain a broader understanding of each child's unique needs when in the midst of family crisis. It presents developmental theories with which professionals might better assess the developmental needs, synchronies, and trajectories of a given child. Ultimately, this book presents guidelines for making appropriate legal decisions and recommendations for children who have experienced crises such as abuse, neglect, relocation, divorce, and much more. Key topics include: Custodial schedules Foster and adoptive care Post-divorce disputes Termination of parental rights Psychological assessment and diagnosis Incarcerated parents and visitation rights Relocation and "distance parenting" Visitation resistance and refusal/reunification Parental Alienation/alignment and estrangement Theories of cognitive, language, and social development




Monitoring State Compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child


Book Description

This open access book presents a discussion on human rights-based attributes for each article pertinent to the substantive rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It provides the reader with a unique and clear overview of the scope and core content of the articles, together with an analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For each article of the UNCRC, the authors explore the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, and identify the main features that need to be taken into consideration when assessing a State’s progressive implementation of the UNCRC. This analysis considers which aspects of a given right are most important to track, in order to monitor States' implementation of any given right, and whether there is any resultant change in the lives of children. This approach transforms the narrative of legal international standards concerning a given right into a set of characteristics that ensure no aspect of said right is overlooked. The book develops a clear and comprehensive understanding of the UNCRC that can be used as an introduction to the rights and principles it contains, and to identify directions for future policy and strategy development in compliance with the UNCRC. As such, it offers an invaluable reference guide for researchers and students in the field of childhood and children’s rights studies, as well as a wide range of professionals and organisations concerned with the subject.