Law Commons^™

Friends With Benefits, Laura A. Rosenbury

UF Law Faculty Publications

Family law has long been intensely interested in certain adult intimate relationships, namely marriage and marriage-like relationships, and silent about other adult intimate relationships, namely friendship. This Article examines the effects of that focus, illustrating how it frustrates one of the goals embraced by most family law scholars over the past forty years: the achievement of gender equality, within the family and without.

Part I examines the current scope of family law doctrine and scholarship, highlighting the ways that the home is still the organizing structure for family. Despite calls for increased legal recognition of diverse families, few scholars have …

Children Of Men: Balancing The Inheritance Rights Of Marital And Non-Marital Children, Browne C. Lewis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Average U.S. citizens are routinely having children out of wedlock. In America, at least one out of every three babies born is a non-marital child. As more and more children continue to be born out of wedlock, society must enact laws to protect the interests of those children. They are the children of men and they are entitled to financial support both during the lives and after the deaths of their parents.

Part II of this article briefly discusses the historical treatment of non-marital children. Part Ill explores the modem legal treatment of non-marital children, which consists of three distinct …

Will Marriage Promotion Work?, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Justice System Response To Domestic Violence In Missouri, Mary M. Beck, Brandi L. Byrd, M. Meghan Davidson, Niels C. Beck, Gregory F. Petroski

Faculty Publications

One in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Each year, 5.3 million domestic violence assaults occur in the United States alone and domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. Yet, despite the prevalence of domestic violence, little empirical research on the justice system's response to it exists. This paper seeks to describe a state funded project that was created to assess and compare responses to domestic violence throughout the state of Missouri. The project lasted for three years and was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) professors and students.

Palmore Comes Of Age: The Place Of Race In The Placement Of Children, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

When Is A "Minor" Also An "Adult"?: An Adolescent's Liberty Interest In Accessing Contraceptives From Public School Distribution Programs, Joshua A. Douglas

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Imagine “Mary,” a sixteen-year-old junior in high school, who has been dating “John,” a seventeen-year-old senior, for three years in a serious relationship. Mary knows that she and John should practice safe sex, and she does not want to become pregnant or catch a sexually transmitted disease. However, she is concerned that her parents will not approve of her activities and will not help her in obtaining contraceptives. John also feels that he is mature enough to make the decision to have sex, yet he knows that his parents will want to consent before he can receive condoms from his …

Caring Too Little, Caring Too Much: Competence And The Family Law Attorney, Barbara Glesner Fines

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Redefining Marriage: Where To Draw The Line?, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Redefining Marriage: Where To Draw The Line?, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Rhode Island Family Court And The Best Interests Of Children, Alexandra Arnold

Senior Honors Projects

With the continuous rise of the divorce rate in America, there is also an increase in the number of children and adolescents who must suffer through the divorce along with their parents. For some, the divorce is a relief and can be a positive change in their lives. For others, it is difficult and devastating, filled with conflict and tension. Whatever the circumstances, there are permanent effects that children experience as a result of their parents’ divorce. These effects of divorce on children are becoming better known as generations of children grow up in a single parent home. The court …

Connecticut Court Improvement Program Reassessment, Diane Gout, Karen Monahan, Anita St. Onge, Jean Bessette, Sameer Mahimkar

Children, Youth, & Families

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau issued a program instruction that requires states to conduct a reassessment. The purpose of the reassessment is to update each state’s earlier assessment of court performance in processing child welfare cases and also to determine what progress has been made since the original assessments.

The Genuine Article: A Subversive Economic Perspective On The Law's Procreationist Vision Of Marriage, Courtney Megan Cahill

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Family Structure, Children, And Law, Vivian E. Hamilton

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Between Home And School, Laura A. Rosenbury

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article challenges family law's traditional paradigm for allocating authority between parents, children and the state. Pursuant to that paradigm, parents enjoy almost complete authority over their children while at home; the state may require children to attend school and may regulate school curricula; and children must submit to the authority of either their parents or teachers. This settled equilibrium ignores a fundamental reality: children are not confined to home and school. Much of childhood takes place in spaces between home and school, at playgrounds, churches, sporting fields, music rooms and after-school clubs. Family law has been virtually silent about …

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - A New Way Of Looking At The Intercountry Adoption Debate, Jena Martin

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Supporting Children, Balancing Lives, Katharine K. Baker

All Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines how U.S. child support policy validates traditional divisions of labor and thereby hinders individual attempts to achieve an acceptable work/family balance. It argues that by using the household as the relevant unit of measurement for child support purposes, family law doctrine legitimates the specialization contracts that arise within households. These specialization contracts, used most extensively in wealthy, elite households, undermine attempts to distribute caretaking and provider roles more equally between parents. The article suggest that by dispensing with the household as the relevant unit of measurement and treating all parents individually, each with a responsibility to caretake …

Guide For Foster Parents And Relative Caregivers: Understanding The Nebraska Juvenile Court, Jennifer Conner

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and related organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:

The Basics
Common Questions
Rights
Resources
The Court Process
Detention Hearing
Adjudication Hearing
Disposition Hearing
Review Hearing
Permanency Hearing
Termination of Parental Rights
Who’s Involved
Judge
Caseworker
Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
County Attorney
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Foster Care Review Board
Important Names, Addresses and Phone Numbers
Judge
Caseworker
Child’s CASA Volunteer
Child’s GAL
Court Hearings
Responsibilities
Definitions of Common Terms

Guide For Parents: Walking Your Way Through The Nebraska Juvenile Court Child Protection Process, Jennifer Conner

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and related organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:
The Basics
Common Questions
Rights
Special Concerns for Parents
Services Available to You if Needed
Responsibilities
The Court Process
Detention Hearing
Adjudication Hearing
Disposition Hearing
Review Hearing
Permanency Hearing
Termination of Parental Rights
Who’s Involved
The Judge
Your Attorney
Your Caseworker
Guardian Ad Litem (GAL)
County Attorney
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Foster Care Review Board
Important Names, Addresses and Phone Numbers
Your Judge
Your Caseworker
Your Attorney
Your Child’s CASA Volunteer
Your Child’s GAL
Your Service Provider
Your Court Hearings
Definitions of Common Terms

Mental And Physical Conditions Encountered In Child Protection And Juvenile Justice, 2007 Edition, Gregg Wright, Victoria Weisz, Christine Wiklund

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and related organizations): Publications

Any grouping of mental and physical conditions risks overemphasizing or mischaracterizing distinctions between mind and body, between thought and emotion, between environment and heredity, even between causes and symptoms. For convenience, and to reflect common usage, we have chosen to group chapters in this book under five headings: Physical Problems, Cognitive Problems, Emotional and Behavioral Problems, Assessments, and Therapies.

Nebraska Revised Statutes: Selected Provisions Pertaining To Child Welfare And Juvenile Justice, 2007 Edition

Center on Children, Families, and the Law (and related organizations): Publications

Table of Contents:

I. Duty and Power of DHHS Regarding the Protection of Children

II. General Social Services Provisions

III. Family Policy Act

IV. Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting Provisions

V. Central Register of Child Protection Cases and Child Fatality Information

VI. Child Abuse and Neglect Investigation and Treatment Teams

VII. Access to Information and Records

VIII. Nebraska Juvenile Code

IX. Foster Care

X. Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act

XI. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children

XII. The Interstate Compact on Juveniles

XIII. Court Appointed Special Advocate Act

XIV. Juvenile Services Provisions:
A. Office of Juvenile Services [Health and …

Pathways And Turning Points: Child Maltreatment, Adolescent Outcomes, And Delinquency, Ryan Spohn

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being is a valuable resource for examining the lives of at-risk youth in a longitudinal fashion. Essentially, I seek to increase our knowledge of “what works?” and “for whom?” I seek to determine if negative pathways of at-risk youth are altered by social factors and professional intervention. This pathway theory is founded on the assumption that individual differences in factors such as cognitive and emotional development lead to trajectories that often lead at-risk youth down paths of negative social and behavioral outcomes. However, I also assume that turning points will be evident in …

Promoting Cooperative Parenting: Programs And Prospects, Marsha Garrison

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Child Support Harming Children: Subordinating The Best Interests Of Children To The Fiscal Interests Of The State, Daniel L. Hatcher

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the government policy of seeking reimbursement of welfare costs through child support enforcement. Under our welfare program, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), custodial parents applying for benefits are required to establish child support obligations against the absent parents and to assign the resulting child support payments to the government. As a result, half of the $105 billion in national child support debt is owed to the government rather than to children. The government's fiscal interests are in direct conflict with the best interests of the children - the controlling legal standard in child support matters. The …

Subverting The Marriage-Amendment Crusade With Law And Policy Reform, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of Formal Marriage: Inevitable Or Reversible?, Marsha Garrison

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Palmore Comes Of Age: The Place Of Race In The Placement Of Children, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Right To Wrong: A Critique Of The 2000 Uniform Parentage Act, Mary P. Byrn

Faculty Scholarship

In 1973, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (the Conference) proposed a Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) that radically changed how parentage was determined in the United States. Prior to 1973, the parentage laws of most states failed to identify two legal parents for thousands of children merely because their parents were not married. These "illegitimate" children were considered a "child of no one" under the law and were denied the significant emotional, financial, and legal benefits of having two legal parents. By the early 1970s, however, the conference recognized that such treatment of children was becoming scientifically, …

Adoption, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

In historical terms, the legal institution of adoption in the United Slates is relatively new. It was between the mid-1800s and the 1920s that the states began to pass laws providing for the adoption of children. Before then children had been adopted informally and in some instances by individual legislative acts, or they had come to live with other families under indenture contracts or as a result of legislation authorizing charitable organizations to place children. Under these new adoption statutes, initially the court records of adoptions were not subject to confidentiality, and adopted children were not issued new birth certificates. …

A Uniform Domestic Partnership Act: Marrying Business Partnership And Family Law, Jennifer Ann Drobac, Antony Page

Faculty Publications

For decades, Americans have argued about who may marry and what marriage actually means in legal, religious, and philosophical terms. For almost as long, two problems - the rising divorce rate and the poverty of some "divorced" children and their custodians - have fed concerns about the viability of marriage as an institution that promotes domestic stability and economic security. This Article explores the notion that domestic partnership based upon business partnership law would better serve more couples, their families, and society as a whole. It proposes a Uniform Domestic Partnership Act, loosely modeled after the UPA, as a substitute …

No-Drop Civil Protection Orders: Exploring The Bounds Of Judicial Intervention In The Lives Of Domestic Violence Victims, Tamara L. Kuennen

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Whatever approach a judge takes to a victim's motion to vacate, there will be a risk. Women who are victims of domestic violence will be threatened or hurt or even killed, and the danger of this happening may increase or decrease based in part on the judge's decision. In the face of such risk, this article argues that on balance, the cost of sacrificing victim autonomy in these cases is too great, and that courts should defer to the victim's decision to vacate, except in the limited circumstance in which doing so is detrimental to an identifiable third party - …