tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-220384712011-12-14T21:53:07.177-05:00A forum for discussing legal issues concerning children.eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-43362726545375409712008-09-03T10:09:00.002-05:002008-09-03T10:22:58.562-05:00

Over the last few weeks, the legal drinking age has taken center stage because over 100 college professors signed a letter advocating the change in the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years.Lowering the legal drinking age in the U.S. to 18 makes sense for a lot of reasons. We've all heard the argument that a young person can fight and die for our country but not legally drink a beer. And the

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-7811872605121920282008-08-24T14:18:00.002-05:002008-08-24T14:20:43.210-05:00

Dear readers:I just completed my one-year stint working for the federal judiciary. I had a wonderful time and I gained crucial experience.Now that I am no longer working for the federal judiciary I am free to express my views once again. Please check back often for updates and comments on children's rights and laws.My best,Elisa

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-81424889408977641432007-09-27T13:52:00.000-05:002007-09-27T13:55:04.108-05:00

Dear Readers --Unfortunately, I will not be able to post on my blog for the next year due to the nature of my current employment. I work for the federal judiciary, and as such I should not continue to express political views or to engage in legal discussions that could involve issues from a case before the Court.I will return to this blog just as soon as I can -- and I appreciate you sticking

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-79878805024339868232007-08-03T08:51:00.001-05:002007-08-03T09:00:14.313-05:00

I am very pleased to see that the Senate has passed "veto-proof" legislation to increase/renew the spending on the State Children's Health Insurance Program, set to end September 30th. This legislation would help to provide health insurance for children in families that fall above the Medicare levels, but below the level to be able to afford private health insurance. The criticism of this bill

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-79940576463320465112007-07-06T05:49:00.000-05:002007-07-06T06:01:34.496-05:00

Alcohol and marijuana are the traditional intoxicants of choice for young people. Experts are reporting that another dangerous group of drugs, prescription drugs, are becoming increasingly common amongst youths. Read about this.This past week, Al Gore III was arrested with a smattering of prescription drugs and some marijuana in his possession. Prescription drugs are apparently easy to get a

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-9875666409144156502007-06-30T07:18:00.000-05:002007-06-30T07:32:24.944-05:00

New Hampshire has repealed its law requiring that parents be notified before a pregnant teen can have an abortion.Such parental notification or parental consent laws have been deemed Constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court only if they include a "judicial override." This override would enable mature teens or teens for whom it would be in their best interest to obtain the requisite consent from

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-4455924009650621222007-06-19T12:04:00.000-05:002007-06-19T12:14:41.849-05:00

Understandably many schools ban aggressive or threatening touching. This can include gang handshakes and un-welcomed hugs. Kilmer Middle School (outside of Washington DC) has gone so far as to ban ALL physical contact between students. This includes high-fives and sitting with an arm around a friend's shoulder. (Read about it.)While it might sound ridiculous that a student could get into

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-31189270149460865902007-04-28T15:49:00.000-05:002007-04-28T15:54:02.544-05:00

Check out my article published on the Harvard International Law Journal Online: China's Proposed International Adoption Law

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-69902946268370582542007-04-27T14:40:00.000-05:002007-04-27T14:58:56.834-05:00

Divorce is not easy for anyone involved. Both husband and wife are dissolving a life-long-commitment that has not worked out. The children are losing the stability of a mommy and daddy unit that had sustained them since childhood. In many instances, divorce seems to be the best option when a married couple can no longer interact appropriately. When constant fights and disagreements ravage the

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-81684235647042219102007-04-17T13:17:00.000-05:002007-04-27T15:00:13.532-05:00

The shootings at Virginia Tech. were a horrible tragedy. I send out my deepest condolences to the parents, siblings, friends, loves, cousins, and classmates touched by these murders. There is no way to undo the damage wrought by the shootings, we can only hope to prevent any future massacres.I had similar feelings years ago after the shootings at Columbine High School. I was in high school at

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-86257130265731720242007-04-17T12:58:00.000-05:002007-04-17T13:07:52.081-05:00

This past weekend Harvard Law School played host to hundreds of child advocates eager to share ideas, discuss pressing issues, and learn from each other. It was a wonderful opportunity for students, like me, to meet many child advocates who work on behalf of children in many different capacities. As a law student it is easy to think of child advocates only as attorneys that represent children

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-14144232739757495172007-04-10T14:19:00.000-05:002007-04-10T14:39:03.780-05:00

In Massachusetts there is a chronic problem of court appointed attorneys not being paid enough to sustain a pool flush with lawyers. Until 2005, court appointed attorneys were paid as little as $30 an hour for representation in a district court case in MA. (These rates remained stagnant for 9 years.) In MA, parents are guaranteed lawyers in certain hearings -- especially those in which they

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-86314867587979108372007-03-22T09:02:00.000-05:002007-03-22T09:30:49.567-05:00

This past week a advertisement in favor of Barack Obama and against Hillary Clinton spread across the Internet. This ad, it turns out, was made by an individual who used to work in the industry making political advertisements.Simultaneously, a group of kids who made a video depicting teddy bears fighting to kill their school teacher won a civil rights lawsuit because of their unlawful expulsion

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-84656331275973118012007-03-13T14:52:00.000-05:002007-03-13T15:05:35.213-05:00

I've blogged quite a few times about youth on the internet. I've written about the dangers of sexual predators lurking for vulnerable kids. I've also touched on the potential dangers youths pose to themselves in providing too much identifying information on the web via social networking cites like Facebook and MySpace. These issues have continued to gain momentum and become increasingly

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-40651889684341583562007-02-20T10:59:00.000-05:002007-02-20T11:20:11.987-05:00

CNN.com's lead story today is about teen "sport killings" of homeless people. (Read Article.)This is an account of the frightening and disturbing trend of teens attacking homeless people and sometimes killing them. The article's list of attacks is a shocking and disturbing list of senseless violence. The homeless in these cases did not pose a threat (in fact one was shot from a roof), and the

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-46179661458633463642007-02-19T11:43:00.000-05:002007-02-19T11:57:25.044-05:00

In my Legal Profession course -- an ethics course required to graduate from law school -- we have discussed hypotheticals that pose the interesting conflict of one individual hiring a lawyer on behalf of another. This could pose particular difficulties for the attorney if the conflicts between the paying individual and the technical client diverge. For example, we discussed the case where a

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-43874546624467010462007-02-07T11:28:00.000-05:002007-02-07T11:45:26.987-05:00

Juveniles are in a precarious position when it comes to issues of sex. It is certainly a taboo to suggest that youths are sexually active -- and youths are subject to the influences of their peers, the concerns of their parents, and the sex-education classes of their schools.I've been researching the sexual proclivities of juveniles and the associated taboos. One good recent example of this

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-13707349651805230082007-01-17T08:48:00.000-05:002007-01-17T09:01:14.874-05:00

The No Child Left Behind law is up for reconsideration. (Read about it.) This reconsideration gives an opportunity for discussion and introspection about primary education in the United States. The place of education in the U.S. legal sphere is an interesting one. First, the U.S. Constitution does not provide for education as an affirmative right. Rather, if the government provides any

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-21050717533149860732007-01-05T13:32:00.000-05:002007-01-05T13:53:40.253-05:00

In Florida last winter three young men were arrested for brutally beating a homeless man to death with baseball bats as the man slept on a bench. One of the assailants was just 17 at the time, and the other two were 19.The prosecutor in the case has decided that the death penalty will not be sought for any of the accused. (Read Article) The death penalty was Constitutionally only an option for

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-23548191803116443752006-12-27T10:35:00.000-05:002006-12-27T10:54:53.891-05:00

I just finished reading Barry Feld's article "Abolish the Juvenile Court: Youthfulness, Criminal Responsibility, and Sentencing Policy." It was insightful, interesting, and filled with strong points about the current problems with juvenile justice. This article is well-known and controversial.The article contends that the juvenile justice system that has been in place since 1899 should be

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-49917158091138034992006-11-16T16:22:00.000-05:002006-11-16T16:37:08.020-05:00

I was very happy to see that my last post on international adoption drummed up some debate. I'd like to use this post to clarify my position on international adoption and to pose the dichotomy in the debate in an alternate fashion.I still think that opinions on international adoption can be divided between those that think that international adoption is a way to save children and those that

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-15210074947819416142006-11-15T16:46:00.000-05:002006-11-15T17:06:53.912-05:00

International adoption is a spreading phenomenon. Thousands of children are adopted internationally each year -- largely by U.S. citizens. International adoption has become relatively trendy with famous celebrities adopting internationally. Madonna, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and even Tom Cruise have made headlines with their internationally adopted children.Despite this more recent -- and

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1163359829819646792006-11-12T14:21:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:22.559-05:00

LaShuan Harris is on trial for killing her three children. Harris' defense is that she is/was insane. She has been diagnosed schizophrenic, and had been medicated before the murders (although she chose to stop taking her medication).Harris was 16 when she got pregnant with her first child. Within 5 years, she had two more children. One day, Harris got hot dogs for her children, then she

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1163354210626901532006-11-12T12:49:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:22.433-05:00

This semester has been moving along very quickly -- and it has been very busy. I'm going to outline a brief description of my graduation requirement paper ("3L paper") in order to garner reactions and words of wisdom -- so if you have comments, please pass them along.I'm curious about the interaction of chilren's status and their legal rights and responsibilities: I wonder how the law reacts to

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1162300874620195342006-10-31T07:45:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:22.326-05:00

In my comparative family law class yesterday, a classmate of mine asked this question: is family law a smaller subsection of women's studies? My professor gave a comprehensive response that centered on the study of the family from the female point of view, and the waxing and waning of this perspective. This discussion, and almost all of the class up until that point, considered the roles of the

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1161270492421972002006-10-19T09:50:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:22.232-05:00

Tragically, a mother and her boyfriend murdered a social worker who was assigned to the case of their child -- who was deemed neglected. (Read the article.) Now the mother, her boyfriend, and their child are all missing. This situation illuminates the dangerous nature of the child protective services case workers' jobs. These brave men and women enter homes to remove children, prevent physical

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1160698637181783262006-10-12T18:48:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:22.146-05:00

I learned in my children's law class that child advocacy in the United States grew out of statutes against cruelty to animals. I found this fact particularly interesting. In 1874, a little girl named Mary Ellen was severely beaten by her foster mother. Neighbors were outraged, but there was no apparent legal recourse against Mary Ellen's abuser. A crafty social worker devised a scheme to

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1160483551811652472006-10-10T07:14:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:22.061-05:00

In Virginia a long time foster mother would like to unadopt a young man she recently adopted. (Read Article). The mom claims that her adopted son came along with a host of issues that she was not aware of when she adopted him. The mom claims that she only recently found out about his past -- being abused by an alcoholic mother, possibly having psychological problems, etc. The mom claims that

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1160145319851855942006-10-06T09:28:00.001-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.966-05:00

I'm at the beginning stages for my final paper for law school. Yesterday I firmed up my topic, and I want to write some of it out and post it to get any initial reaction or just to start the debate.I'm curious about the legal ramifications for and treatment of juveniles acting like adults. This would apply to issues like juvenile abortion and juvenile delinquency. I'm also planning on

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1159555311723765662006-09-29T13:29:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.795-05:00

I don't genearlly write about youth safety particularly, but the recent shooting at a Colorado high school highlights some interesting issues about youth internet safety. Cnn.com indicates that the shooter may have pre-selected his sexual assault victims, hostiges, and murder victim on MySpace.com. (Read Article).Social networking cites have become all the rage. I've written more generally

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1158330128123214602006-09-15T09:12:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.717-05:00

A report by the Children's Law Center and Harvard that examines the duration of juvenile detention pre-araignment has just been released. Read about the report (here).I was fortunate enough to get to work with some of the early numbers at the Children's Law Center two summers ago. The data is startling. The children are held -- with no chance for bail -- for a long time. Sometimes the children

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1158152062272629032006-09-13T07:54:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.628-05:00

From discussions in my Child, Family, and State course, I have become increasingly interested in the "mature-minor" doctrine. Under this doctrine, when a child appears capable of mature reasoning, that child's wishes will hold more sway with the court. This doctrine -- and the general principles behind it -- have a broad impact. Most clearly, such a doctrine is applicable in the case of

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1157660105417156532006-09-07T15:03:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.533-05:00

This is the start of a new school year. I should have a very child-advocacy-focused year, and I am quite excited about it! I'm taking a child law class and a comparative family law class this semester. Next semester I'll be doing a children's law clinical (practical experience). Throughout the year I'll be working on my graduation writing requirement. I'll use that requirement as a way to

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1150405705126428472006-06-15T16:08:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.452-05:00

In Colorado a court has ruled that a 15-year-old girl could be deemed legally married by English common law, which is applicable in Colorado. (Read this article.)Apparently the young girl's mother consented, and her mother even accompanied the girl and her 38-year-old fiance to get their marriage license. My first reaction is that this is a horrible idea. How can she possibly be of the able

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1147864471921899232006-05-17T06:07:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.368-05:00

It is reported that a fourteen-year-old girl has been held in prison because the judge is concerned about her safety as a witness against two men who reportedly sexually molested her. (Read about it here.)Why is it that kids are different? I find it hard to believe that an adult witness would be held in prison for two weeks at all, let alone without speeaking with a lawyer. One of the accused

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1146741615037579062006-05-04T06:10:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.274-05:00

I've written a few posts about the dangers of the Internet for youths -- both physically and legally. On cnn.com today there is an article about Massachusetts trying to get the age limit on MySpace bumped up from 14 to 18 (this is the article). It is not until the end of the article that the reality is presented that there is no actual way to check the age of an Internet user.Even if MySpace

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1146062144395768782006-04-26T09:31:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.199-05:00

On the Colbert Report the other day, there was a feature about a juvenile court judge in Massachusetts who sentences youths to a theater program rather than to juvenile detention. This form of alternative sentencing leaves open the option for youths to gain certain skills, confidence, and relationships that they would not have otherwise. This sort of "punishment" is what the juvenile justice

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1145280570579115892006-04-17T08:13:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.122-05:00

As my last post indicated, more and more youths are using the internet unsupervised. Not only does this lead to the victimization of youths by adult preditors, it could also lead youths to carelessly self-incriminate themselves. Slashdot.com recently posted an article about "CopsWalking the MySpace Beat" (available at http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/16/2227209).Young people go on

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1144260939738670782006-04-05T13:04:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:21.035-05:00

Over the past few days I've been running into many stories about adults soliciting sex from children over the internet. For example, Brian Doyle, the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security is facing charges relating to such inappropriate contact online. This is a frightening and dangerous practice that poses many problems for the zealous child advocate. There is a

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1143911311795256372006-04-01T11:56:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.945-05:00

In considering the totality of my Child Advocacy Policy Workshop, I've realized that there are two possible courses of action for a child advocate. The child advocate can either (1) pursue a total restructuring of our society's distribution of rights between children and adults, or (2) embrace newer "holistic"-type approaches that use a piecemeal method of reaching certain portions of the

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1143228027296747312006-03-24T14:08:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.855-05:00

In sitting down and starting to put things on paper for my Child Advocacy Policy Workshop, I've come across an interesting trend. It seems that to effectively help children there needs to be a legal revolution -- a change of ideology, of approach and eventually of social values. If we could manage to develop an approach to child welfare that does not clash with the privacy awarded to parents and

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1143046342890364552006-03-22T11:48:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.774-05:00

I've finally settled my research paper topic! I will be trying to decide if the Warren Court in Kent v. U.S. and In re Gault killed the role of parens patriae in juvenile delinquency proceedings. Further, I will be looking into if there has been a rebirth of parens patriae -- especially in light of the recent Roper v. Simons decision (juvenile death penalty).I will be heading to the archives to

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1142455071156964632006-03-15T15:32:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.696-05:00

It turns out that the youth discussed earlier in my post "Boot Camp" did not die of natural causes. The autopsy indicated that he was not a victim of a sickle disease, rather, perhaps he was a victim of the boot camp.It is the time to look into the juvenile detention centers, the juvenile justice system, the education system and the general treatment of children in society. In cases such as

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1142286810696064642006-03-13T16:41:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.579-05:00

In my most recent Child Advocacy Policy Workshop we discussed the recent surge of community and family treatment drug courts around the nation, but most specifically in New York. In considering my recent reserach into the development of the juvenile courts and juvenile justice, especially as altered by the Warren Court's In re Gault decision, the modification of family courts in this way is

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1141658552901887442006-03-06T10:14:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.483-05:00

This past Thursday I had the fantastic opportunity to see Chief Justice Margaret Marshall of the Supreme Judicial Court of MA speak about children's issues. Further, I had the rare opportunity to accompany her and Professor Bartholet and Jessica Budnitz with other students to dinner after the presentation.Justice Marshall had an intersting take on children's issues. She does not have a child

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1141336795357831322006-03-02T16:54:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.388-05:00

In my first blog entry I indicated that part of the purpose of this blog is to help me develop a point of view in order to (hopefully) produce a piece of academic writing on the subject of juvenile law and children's rights. I've narrowed in on In re Gault and the use of social science by the justices. I'm hoping to take a deeper look into the legal reasoning for the creation and alteration of

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1141070241656719572006-02-27T14:45:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.300-05:00

Today in my constitutional law class we discussed the concept that a biological mother and father are granted parental rights in the U.S. through the legal structure, and that biology does not necessarily have to be the default family realtion. Specifically we discussed this issue in regards to DeShaney v. Winnebago County DSS (U.S. 1989) in which a father severely beat and permanently damaged

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1140808560502041002006-02-24T14:01:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.222-05:00

This is an exerpt from an e-mail about child-related issues (specifically abuse) that I recieved:"Right now, my school is under investigation by the Welfare Dept because I asked a teacher to come into school clean, on time, and prepared to teach, and she quit and then called the Welfare Dept and made erroneous complaints. Should this be allowed? Using the state as a means to take revenge on a

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1140713959279290362006-02-23T11:50:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.144-05:00

How is it that Michael and Sharen Gravelle were able to adopt children? They adopted 11 children with physical and educational disabilities. They put those 11 children in cages -- with alarms -- and called them beds. Special needs children are particularly difficult to place in adoptive homes, fine, but that does not mean that there should be decreased monitoring and care in selecting the homes

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1140529585532064542006-02-21T08:36:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:20.038-05:00

I've made various references to juvenile law cases in the news -- and here I make yet another. A 14-year old boy murdered his step mother, his 13-year old step sister and his father. The news stories present that the choices of "treatment" are either commitment until age 21 or inprisonment in adult prison for up to 50 years.It is not clear to me why there has to be such a dichotomy -- why there

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1140281312830467622006-02-18T11:40:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:19.943-05:00

The recent story of the boy who was "beaten" at boot camp and then died raises questions about juvenile adjudication. The articles indicate that a blood disease, not physical trauma, was the proximate cause of his death. This tragedy, thought it may be unrelated to his means of incarceration, is shedding light and sparking debate over the merits of such facilities.This boot camp was explained

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1140207883953249722006-02-17T15:16:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:19.801-05:00

Last night at my child advocacy policy workshop the discussion centered around intensive early home visitation programs. This strategy has been substantiated by the intensive social scientific reviews of Dr. Olds over the last 30 years. Now it is at the slow implementation phase nation-wide.In order to take the successful results from double-blind randomized experiments and replicate them,

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1140032963098759392006-02-15T14:43:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:19.193-05:00

I'm beginning a deeper inquiry into the historical development of the legal status of children. I'm excited to encounter their treatment as adults (depicted in art museums), their status as nothing more than chattel and the development of their custody.As the patriarchal household met its demise, children moved from being property of the household (and necessarily the father head of house), to

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1139838634783672772006-02-13T08:36:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:19.099-05:00

On cnn.com there's a story about a 6 year old boy who has been accused of sexual harassment. He allegedly put his fingers inside the waistband of a female classmate and was suspended and has since been transferred to a different school. The boy's mother exclaimed that she couldn't even explain what he had done because he is too young to understand. (How is it that sexual harassment is supposed

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1139607337180700402006-02-10T16:21:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:19.015-05:00

There is disagreement in the child advocacy community about the merits of early home visitation. Briefly, early home visitation is a (largely experimental) strategy of providing pre-natal or post-birth care, training and/or surveillance to prevent child abuse. It imparts parenting skills to new parents who may not have had good parenting examples of their own. The debate is heated especially

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1139326453173525042006-02-07T10:26:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:18.915-05:00

This year I'm in a year-long course entitled the Child Advocacy Policy Workshop. It is a speaker series that culminates in a quasi-thought piece later this semester. Speakers with different perspectives on child advocacy have maintained that child advocacy is not political: that the protection of children crosses the political borders and embraces all who commit themselves to the protection of

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1139251833127146482006-02-06T13:42:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:18.801-05:00

Before my Constitutional Law class today state v. federal debates floated past and I never really cared to latch on. One point caught my interest though -- without the judicial review capacities of the Supreme Court over state issues, unrepresented minorities could effectively lose any refuge within the government. That is, because state judges are often elected, all three branches would

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22038471.post-1139236713436516112006-02-06T09:25:00.000-05:002006-11-15T16:40:18.699-05:00

I'd like this blog to be a place to post my thoughts and discoveries about children's law and child advocacy. More importantly, however, I'd like to get input from others who share my interest and curiosity in children's law.I'm doing some specific research this semester in school, but generally I'll be considering at least two different (and at least at this point in my consideration --

eponczhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00924859480872301668noreply@blogger.com0