Child Abuse And The Legal System

This ground-breaking text examines the legal contexts in which child abuse can be handled, including the criminal, juvenile, domestic relations, and civil courts. The authors focus on the legal rules in each type of proceeding and the ways in which the law has changed to accommodate the special needs of the children in the last fifteen years. Case studies provide examples and help identify the most important issues of child abuse facing the legal system. Child abuse is now a major part of the American legal landscape, involving not only the courts, but also law enforcement and child protection agencies. This is the first text for classroom use to systematically examine the fate of children in the legal system.

Annotation "This book describes physical and behavioral indicators of abuse, theoretical explanations of child abuse, the characteristics of abusers, and responses to child abuse by the criminal justice system."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sexual crime is a topic of massive public concern. Yet the debate over its causes and the appropriate responses of the criminal justice system is often fuelled by ignorance and prejudice, with little understanding of the reality of sexual crime. Acts of Abuse explores the response of the criminal justice system to this important issue. Its author, Adam Sampson, examines the existing research about the causes of rape and child abuse, the number of offences being committed, and the policy of the courts. He then examines in detail the responses of the probation service and the prison system to the increased number of offenders with which they are being required to deal. Written by a prominent critic of the British penal system, this is the first comprehensive survey of the phenomenon of sexual crime in the British penal context. It will appeal to students and all those with an interest in issues relating to crime and justice.

Dramatic cases of child abuse and neglect are featured with tragic regularity in the news. The stories vividly demonstrate both the urgent need for improved child protection services and the unwieldiness and ineffectiveness of the systems charged with the task. To complicate matters further, the original intent of child welfare policy is becoming increasingly obscured as legal responses to child maltreatment become more complex, intrusive, and even contradictory. Fueled by a consistent narrative and a lucid ethical stance, Child Maltreatment and the Law analyzes the increasing role legal systems play in family life and traces rapidly evolving legal concepts as they apply to child protection. This unique volume helps readers: (1) Navigate the various layers of legal regulation – federal and state – involved in child protection and family life. (2) Identify variations and discrepancies in definitions of maltreatment and legal responses. (3) Critique the relationships and boundary disputes between the criminal and civil justice systems and agencies dedicated to children’s welfare. (4) Analyze controversies (e.g., removing children from maltreating families) and other prime areas for possible reform. Child Maltreatment and the Law is a must-read for psychologists, developmentalists, sociologists, social workers, criminologists, and researchers focusing on family life as well as policymakers and advocates working within the legal system. The book is particularly useful for courses relating to child welfare law or child abuse and neglect.

This expanded and updated edition of Legal Issues in Child Abuse and Neglect Practice will familiarize professionals from medicine, nursing, psychology, social work, and related disciplines with the innumerable legal implications in their day-to-day work. Offering a state-of-the-art exploration of the role that law can play in cases of child maltreatment, this edition closes the communication gap between legal and helping professionals that sometimes reduces efficacy and cooperation in achieving the common goal of improving the lives of victimized children. This new edition continues to provide vital information to non-lawyers regarding how the legal system works in child maltreatment cases. John E. B. Myers discusses the prevalence and effects of child maltreatment, and he outlines the child protection system with clarity. Other areas covered include the investigation and reporting laws, issues of confidentiality and disclosure, expert testimony, cross examination and impeachment, and the liability of professionals. Legal Issues in Child Abuse and Neglect Practice is a must-read for mental health and legal professionals, health care providers, educators, and child advocates. Advanced clinical and legal students as well as academics and researchers will also find this material essential.

This expanded and updated Second Edition of Legal Issues in Child Abuse and Neglect Practice offers a state-of-the-art exploration of what role the law can play in bettering the lives of victimized children. While all who work with abused children share the same goals, there often exists a gap in communication between legal and helping professionals that reduces efficacy of cooperative efforts. This new edition continues to provide vital information to non-lawyers on how the legal system in the United States works in child abuse cases.

Reviews new research on the consequences of child sexual abuse, the capabilities of children as witnesses, and the impact of the court process on child victims. Also analyzes pertinent statutes and case law. 16 charts and tables.

This Edition has been thoroughly updated with the latest cases, statutory references, and scholarly commentary. It also includes coverage of recent Supreme Court decisions such as: Miller v. Alabama/Jackson v. Hobbs (2012), in which the Court held that mandatory imposition of a sentence of life without parole in the case of one who was a juvenile at the time of the offense violates the Eighth Amendment''s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment Graham v. Florida (2010), Miller''s predecessor, in which the Court held that imposition of a sentence of LWOP on a juvenile for a nonhomicide offense violated the Eighth Amendment Florida v. Harris (2013), in which the Court, although in an adult, non-school search context, held that an alert by a trained, drug-sniffing dog constitutes a presumption of probable cause to search J.D.B. v. North Carolina (2011), in which the Court held that a juvenile''s age is a factor that can be taken into account in determining whether one is "in custody" for Miranda and interrogation purposes Stafford Unified School District No. 1 v. Redding (2009), in which the Court held that a strip search of a 13-year-old middle school student violated the Fourth Amendment''s prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (2013), in which the Court held that the preferences given to members of an Indian child''s family, members of the child''s tribe, or other Indian families, under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, do not apply where there is no alternative party seeking to adopt the child. The 5th edition has retained the basic overall organizational structure of the previous edition, with one exception. Chapters 5 through 7, which focus on the legal response to child maltreatment, have been reorganized as follows: Chapter 5 addresses the substantive standards defining child abuse or neglect; Chapter 6 deals with processes characterizing the responses of the dependency and criminal justice systems to suspected child abuse or neglect; and Chapter 7 addresses various dispositions in child maltreatment cases. Within each chapter, substantial new material has been incorporated into the treatment of each topic. For example, Chapter 5 includes special attention to issues such as: specificity versus vagueness in construction of child maltreatment statutes; the line between corporal punishment and physical abuse; the relationships among poverty, race, homelessness, and neglect; the challenges of defining and identifying emotional or psychological maltreatment; and the interplay between domestic violence and child maltreatment. At the same time, Chapter 5 retains and updates this casebook''s distinctive in-depth examination of the appropriate legal responses to a range of medical neglect problems. Chapter 6 follows the processing of cases through the dependency and criminal justice systems respectively, examining topics relating to reporting statutes, summary removal, state liability for failure to protect, and constitutional and evidentiary issues encountered in criminal prosecution of alleged child maltreatment. Chapter 7 examines historical shifts in federal and state policy regarding child welfare system dispositional alternatives, considers the implications of the recent findings of developmental neuroscience for child protection policy reform, and contains materials that allow for critical analysis of a range of issues relating to the foster care system and legal mechanisms for the termination of parental rights. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this book, which the authors have retained in this edition, is its breadth of coverage and degree of flexibility in teaching. It deals with every aspect of how the law relates to minors, from free expression in school and other school-related issues to child custody, to private law (e.g.. torts and contracts), to the juvenile justice system (i.e., delinquency and the operation of criminal justice principles to juvenile justice), to abuse and neglect (including medical neglect), to termination of parental rights, to foster care, to adoption, to the status of children as children (i.e., children''s "rights"). For that reason, the book lends itself to use in any number of courses that might be styled "Juvenile Law," or "Juvenile Justice," or "Juvenile and Family Law," or, indeed, "Children in the Legal System" or "Children and the Law." As mentioned below, the flexibility of the book lends itself to varying numbers of credit hours. The book contains a unique blend of cases, statutory materials, and scholarly commentary, including those from the social sciences in addition to law, in such a way that the teacher can draw on a number of sources in examining and teaching about any subject area covered in the book. No supplementary materials are needed; everything is in one book. The organization of the book is an important pedagogical tool as well. It is organized to flow from one area to the next as it explores the overall relationship between the state, parents, and the child, understanding, of course, that a professor in a given course might choose to skip over some parts of the material in the interest of time and coverage. It lends itself particularly to a 2- or 3-hour course, depending on the nature of the course and what the professor chooses to cover. Each course that is taught around the country using this book, whether in law schools or graduate school or even in the undergraduate classroom, will be tailor-made and suited to the particular professor''s preferences and emphases and the interests of the students. For those who adopt the book, a Teacher''s Manual is furnished to serve as a helpful guide in using the book in the classroom from day to day. In addition, occasional electronic updates are furnished to teachers, highlighting recent developments and cases, particularly decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court.