Sexting: “Most people don’t think it’s that big of a deal anymore”
The New York Times ran a thoughtful and extensive series of articles on sexting during the weekend. According to one of the stories, sexting is now mostly a middle school phenomenon. By the time they reach high school, most teens are more interested in dirty text messages. With that thought in mind, here are some highlights:
But adults face a hard truth. For teenagers, who have ready access to technology and are growing up in a culture that celebrates body flaunting, sexting is laughably easy, unremarkable and even compelling: the primary reason teenagers sext is to look ...
Fifth Circuit Issues Landmark Ruling for Child Victims
Late yesterday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans adopted my longstanding position that there is no general proximate cause requirement governing restitution for victims of child pornography.
Since the New York Times wrote this story last year about our firm's effort to obtain restitution for a child pornography victim known as "Amy," hundreds of federal district courts across the country have denied restitution or issued de minimus restitution orders on her behalf.
The Fifth Circuit's unprecedented decision held that proximate cause is not a general ...
How To Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents
Screening potential adoptive and foster parents is an extremely difficult task, yet many social workers who screen applicants and supervise placements have no written guide to aid in their decision making or to measure competency of technique.
How To Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents: A Workbook for Professionals and Students serves as a comprehensive guide for social workers to draw on when making decisions for foster care/adoption placement. Based on case histories, research data, and interpretive analysis, this workbook teaches specific interview skills and analytical ...
The Relationship Between Child Sex Abuse and Criminality
A recently published article looks at the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. In "Disentangling the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment and Violent Delinquency: Using a Nationally Representative Sample," researchers Ilhong Yun, Jeremy D. Ball, and Hyeyoung Lim used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents to examine the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency.
The cases of 3,472 adolescents were analyzed for any relationship among child maltreatment and violent delinquency and for potential moderat...
Promoting Stable Families Through Postadoption Support
Postadoption support services are vitally important to sustain and strengthen adoptive families. Adoptees with histories of abuse, neglect, or lengthy institutionalization may confront significant challenges throughout their childhood. Without ongoing assistance and support for the children and their parents, many of these adoptions are at risk of disruption or dissolution. A new report issued by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute reviews existing postadoption programs and identifies directions for the development of effective models of postadoption practices.
The ...
School Lunches for Children in Foster Care
Signed into law by the President on December 13, 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for the first time in over 30 years, the chance to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 provides categorical eligibility to foster children for free meals served under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. A recent memo from the USDA's Director of Child Nutrition ...
Supporting Higher Education for Students from Foster Care
Casey Family Programs recently updated their Supporting Success framework, a tool to help higher education organizations develop and enhance services to improve outcomes for students from foster care. In addition to the stressors faced by most new students transitioning to a college environment, youth from foster care often have unique needs related to housing, food, transportation, health care, and financial aid.
The framework helps colleges improve their existing student support services and develop new programs to address these needs so students can focus on their ...