Seven Avoidable Legal Mistakes CPS Investigators Make
Seven attorneys give their observations and understandings of the avoidable legal missteps that child protective services investigators take:
CPS interviewers sometimes view a child's anti-social or hurtful behavior as evidence that the child is not a trustworthy reporter of abuse.
Assuming that the CPS investigator will be allowed to testify in place of the child at a criminal trial is an avoidable legal mistake.
Even though CPS investigators are invariably well-meaning, they tend to form an opinion quickly as they investigate a case and to neglect alterna...
Sexual Assault Of Minors In Rural Areas: The Role Of Departments Of Human Services
They may not make the national news too frequently, but minors in rural areas are sexually assaulted – very often.
Federal and state legislatures have enacted laws designed to protect minors from registered sex offenders. Adopted in 1996, Megan’s Law created a nationwide sex offender registry. Every state followed suit.
Codified in California Penal Code, §§ 290 et seq. (including a voter-approved measure known as “Jessica’s Law”) regulates the residency of registered sex offenders. It prohibits registered sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet ...
Do States Adequately Oversee People With Developmental Disabilities in Community Settings?
Like most parents, my good friend and his wife are concerned about their child’s future. They know they need to prepare her to be on her own one day.
My friends are also scared. Not because he recently had a near-fatal heart attack. Their fear is more deep-rooted. Their 13-year-old daughter has Down syndrome and they are apprehensive about her future.
Specifically, they are worried that one day, some unscrupulous person will take advantage of her sexually. This fear is not far-fetched. According to an article in Journal of Family Violence, among the developmentally ...
Financial Eligibility Criteria To Be A Foster Or Adoptive Parent
All states require prospective foster and adoptive parents to have sufficient income to meet their own needs and ensure the security and stability of the household independent of foster care maintenance or adoption subsidy payments. While caregivers are reimbursed for a child's basic needs, this money should not be thought of as a way to make extra income.
Financial stability is not an end in itself, and income sufficiency is never the sole determinant of healthy family functioning. Indeed, many foster parents pay out-of-pocket for the needs of their foster children simply because the per diem rate is inadequate. Still, “for all practical purposes, lack of specificity renders a ‘sufficient income’ provision unenforceable, and invites questionable applicants to be foster and adoptive parents, motivated for the wrong reasons,” says Massachusetts attorney Karen K. Greenberg. While applicants do not need to be prosperous, the home approval process should require an objective in-depth evaluation of an applicant’s total financial history and prospects.
Parenting a Child Who Has Experienced Abuse or Neglect
Children who have been abused or neglected need safe and nurturing relationships that address the effects of child maltreatment. If you are parenting a child who has been abused or neglected, you might have questions about your child’s experiences and the effects of those experiences. This factsheet is intended to help parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers better understand the challenges of caring for a child who has experienced maltreatment and learn about the resources available for support. (In some cases, the term “birth” parent is used to distinguish parents with children involved with child welfare from kin or foster or adoptive parents.)
Parenting a Child Who Has Experienced Trauma
Children who have experienced traumatic events need to feel safe and loved. All parents want to provide this kind of nurturing home for their children. However, when parents do not have an understanding of the effects of trauma, they may misinterpret their child’s behavior and end up feeling frustrated or resentful. Their attempts to address troubling behavior may be ineffective or, in some cases, even harmful.
This factsheet discusses the nature of trauma, its effects on children and youth, and ways to help your child. By increasing your understanding of trauma, you can help support your child’s healing, your relationship with him or her, and your family as a whole.
Parenting a Child Who Has Been Sexually Abused: A Guide for Foster and Adoptive Parents
You may be a current or prospective foster or adoptive parent of a child with a known or suspected history of child sexual abuse. In some cases, you may not be certain that abuse has occurred, but you may have suspicions based on information you received or because of the child’s behavior. You may feel confused, concerned, and unsure of the impact of prior child maltreatment, including sexual abuse.