Law Commons^™

Race Matters In Adoption, Ruth-Arlene W. Howe

Ruth-Arlene W. Howe

In Part I of this Essay, Professor Howe shares some personal concerns that the real needs of African American children and families are not met if race is ignored. The findings and recommendations of the May 2008 Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute paper: Finding Families for African American Children: The Role of Race & Law in Adoption From Foster Care are reviewed in Part II. Next in Part III., Professor Howe discusses the current Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Standards of Excellence for Adoption Services - the lens through which the Adoption Institute assessed the efficacy of current federal …

Members Only: The Need For Reform In U.S. Intercountry Adoption Policy, Colin Joseph Troy

Seattle University Law Review

In the last five years, Americans have adopted nearly seventy thousand children from foreign countries. The trend of intercountry adoption, “the process by which a married couple or single individual of one country adopts a child from another country,” is representative of the new globalized world, where families are formed and dissolved beyond the bounds of national borders. Although intercountry adoption has enabled many adoptive parents to form loving families and provide caring living environments for countless children, intercountry adoption is not without its share of problems. Corruption and abuse, such as child trafficking, have in many cases marred the …

All Your Eggs In One Basket: Why Contract Law Proves Unreliable In Frozen Embryo Adoption Cases, Austin R. Caster

Austin R Caster

This article will show why infertile couples cannot unequivocally rely on good faith, consensual contracts in cases of assisted reproductive technology because the law is so unsettled. Each section will show why, because of alleged public policy implications, contract doctrines or clauses such as (1) the termination of parental rights, (2) the doctrine of waste, and (3) liquidated damages still remain almost completely unreliable in a matter regarding assisted reproductive technology. Though this uncertainty affects infertile couples trying to complete their families through various methods including adoption, surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and artificial insemination, this article will focus on cases …

Cracks In The Cost Structure Of Agency Adoption, Andrea B. Carroll

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Missing Girls Of China: Population, Policy, Culture, Gender, Abortion, Abandonment, And Adoption In East-Asian Perspective, David M. Smolin

David M. Smolin

This article analyzes the causes and possible solutions to the sex ratio imbalance of China, as well as the causes of the diminishing numbers of intercountry adoptions from China. Part I provides statistical, historical, and cultural analysis of China's "missing girls" (sex-ratio imbalance), concluding that sex selective abortion has become the primary cause of China missing approximately ten percent of females at birth. The article focuses on both cultural factors and China's population control policies as causative factors. Part II discusses population control, declining fertility, and the devaluation of girls and women, analyzing a context where declining fertility has been …

Where Are The Records? Handling Lost/Destroyed Records In Child Welfare Tort Litigation, Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

As child welfare professionals, we have all encountered the “missing” record, most often during day-to-day advocacy. For those who practice child welfare tort litigation, incomplete discovery is also common, even though case records can be critical in determining negligence or malfeasance. In other forms of civil litigation, judges are asked to hold parties accountable for losing or destroying records, and juries are allowed to draw negative inferences about the missing evidence. In contrast, an investigation of child welfare torts reveals that when a defending agency fails to produce credible records, the issue is simply not litigated or does not affect …

No Difference?: An Analysis Of Same-Sex Parenting, George W. Dent

Faculty Publications

The principal argument for traditional marriage is that it is uniquely beneficial to children. The campaign for same-sex marriage (“SSM”) denies this argument and claims that same-sex couples are just as good as other parents; there is “no difference” between the two. This article analyzes this claim and concludes that it is unsubstantiated and almost certainly false.

Cutting Edge Issues In Family And Matrimonial Law: An Annotated Bibliography, Nancy Levit

Faculty Works

This bibliography covers law review articles published, for the most part, after 2007. Articles for which the title is self-explanatory or that concern only a single case, state, or statute are cited, but not annotated. Property-related issues will appear in the fall 2011 bibliography.

Imperfect Remedies: The Arsenal Of Criminal Statutes Available To Prosecute International Adoption Fraud In The United States, Katie Rasor, Richard M. Rothblatt, Elizabeth A. Russo, Julie A. Turner

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Re-Invention Of Adoption Law: A Reflection, Diane B. Kunz

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Homosexual Single Individuals’ Right To Adopt Before The European Court Of Human Rights And In The French Legal Context, Elena Falletti

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Parents: Trusted But Not Trustees Or (Foster) Parents As Fiduciaries, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

Some fifteen years ago, Elizabeth and Robert Scott wrote an important article making the case that parents could be usefully described using a fiduciary model. This paper explains why their model fits foster parents better than biological or adoptive parents, at least in the sense that Tamar Frankel explains in her new book on fiduciary law.

Old Lessons For A New World: Applying Adoption Research And Experience To Art, Naomi R. Cahn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article suggests that knowledge derived from adoption-related research and experience can be used to improve law, policy and practice in the world of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), particularly with respect to sperm, egg and embryo "donations." While there are numerous and significant differences between adoption and ART, the article identifies several areas in which adoption's lessons could be useful. These include secrecy and the withholding of information; a focus on the best interests of children; the creation of "nontraditional" families, particularly as more single, gay and lesbian adults use ART; the impact of market forces; and legal and regulatory …

Finding Home In The World: A Deontological Theory Of The Right To Be Adopted, Paulo Barrozo

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Seeking The Better Interests Of Children With A New International Law Of Adoption, Richard Carlson

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Embryo “Adoption”? The Rhetoric, The Law, And The Legal Consequences, Polina M. Dostalik

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interstate Recognition Of Parent-Child Relationships: The Limits Of The State Interests Paradigm And The Role Of Due Process, Steve Sanders

Articles by Maurer Faculty

How secure are the legal relationships between gay or lesbian parents and their children when those families move from one state to another? What happens when a non-biological parent who has been legally recognized as a full parent under the laws of one state moves with her same-sex spouse and their child to a different state where public policy is unfriendly toward same-sex relationships? Or what happens when a same-sex couple adopts a child, thus becoming its full legal parents, then seeks recognition of their parental status in a different state?

In this Article I argue that the traditional doctrines …