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Full-Text Articles in Law

Advocating For The Constitutional Rights Of Nonresident Fathers, Vivek Sankaran Jan 2008

Advocating For The Constitutional Rights Of Nonresident Fathers, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

Months after a child welaare case is petitioned, a nonresident father appears in court and requests custody of his children who are living in foster care. Little is known about the father, and immediately, the system-judge, caseworkers, and attorneys view him with suspicion and caution, inquiring about his whereabouts and his prior involvement in the children's lives. Those doubts, in turn, raise complicated questions about his legal rights to his children. As a practioner working in the child welfare system, you're likely to face this scenario. The largest percentage of child victims of abuse and neglect come from households headed …


Navigating The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children: Advocacy Tips For Child Welfare Attorneys, Vivek Sankaran Jan 2008

Navigating The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children: Advocacy Tips For Child Welfare Attorneys, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

Legal advocates across the country confront hundreds of cases like Samira's each year. Many of those cases end with arms raised in frustration due to what appears to be a lack of options after the receiving state either fails to complete the home study or denies a placement. That frustration is understandabkle given the absence of language in the Compact outlining any process to compe states to complete home studies or to permit judicial review of placement denials. Yet, as advocates, we must move beyond this initial state of paralysis and develop creative ways to vindicate the rights of our …


Kiddie Law Is Growing Up: Board Certification In Child Welfare Law, Donald N. Duquette Jan 2008

Kiddie Law Is Growing Up: Board Certification In Child Welfare Law, Donald N. Duquette

Articles

Few areas of the law are as personally rewarding as child welfarethat is, representing children, parents, or a government agency in cases of alleged child abuse and neglect. Few areas of the law provide a greater opportunity to make a tremendous difference in the lives of individuals. Few areas of the law are as intellectually challenging, fast developing, and dynamic as child welfare. Until recently the child welfare field was demeaned as "kiddie law"-not worthy of the intellectual and advocacy talents of the best of America's lawyers. The field is steadily being transformed, however, from a sleepy, assembly-line processing of …