Law Commons^™

Judicial Discretion Is Advised: The Lack Of Discretionary Appointments Of Counsel For Children In Washington State Dependency Proceedings, Marisa Forthun

Washington Law Review Online

State agencies initiate dependency proceedings when a child is alleged, often due to parental neglect or abuse, to be a dependent of the state. The state must intervene “[w]hen parents do not comply with [Child Protective Services] requirements, or when the state believes the child is at too great a risk to remain at home even if parents were to comply with services.” Dependency proceedings usually take place in juvenile courts and involve the local state agency, the parents, and the child. After the government files a petition alleging circumstances of neglect or abuse, “[t]he court issues temporary orders regarding …

Rights Of Incarcerated Parents, Angélica Cházaro

Chapters in Books

This chapter discusses the childcare and custody rights of incarcerated parents. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, an estimated 809,800 state and federal prisoners were parents to children under the age of eighteen in 2007. There are approximately 1,706,600 children under the age of eighteen who have a parent in prison.

As a parent in prison, you may fear that your child will not be cared for, that you will lose your child, or that your relationship with your child will suffer while you are incarcerated. This Chapter focuses on New York state law and describes how the law …

Jurisdiction, Standing, And Decisional Standards In Parent-Nonparent Custody Disputes—In Re Marriage Of Allen, 28 Wn. App. 637, 626 P.2d 16 (1981), Sandra R. Blair

Washington Law Review

This Note contends that, based on the custody statute and relevant case law, the court of appeals should have answered these questions differently. The Note first proposes that, in a dissolution action, the trial court should have automatic jurisdiction only over the children born of that marriage. The court should have jurisdiction over other children only if they are not in the custody of either of their parents or if neither parent is a suitable custodian. Second, it proposes that a stepparent should not automatically have standing to seek custody of a child based on an in loco parentis relationship. …