Discusses issues in the adjudication of child sexual abuse allegations and reviews research about the believability of child witnesses. It also examines accommodations for children that could assist the child witness and encourage accurate testimony, while continuing to protect the rights of the accused. Criminal, juvenile, and divorce court…

Presents the text of a lecture that looks at the declaratory, procedural, and monitoring features of a Children Act that would encompass lessons from the past to enhance the future of Scottish children. Also discusses four major questions at the heart of child-centered legislation. (TJQ)

Used panel data on 207 divorced women and their children to examine influence of mothers' parenting practice, involvement of nonresidential fathers, and parental conflict on adjustment of adolescents. Quality of parenting by nonresidential fathers and quality of mother's parenting both were related to externalizing problems for boys and girls.…

Studied the influence of maternal substance abuse upon the placement of children in out-of-home care and the subsequent effects on mother-child visitation. Found five major factors that can promote or inhibit visiting: (1) mother's drug use and health status; (2) effect of visits on child; (3) transportation; (4) scheduling/visit settings; and (5)…

Examined placement stability among a cohort of children in out-of-home care. Found that children in kinship care, regardless of age, had fewer placement moves than those in nonkinship care. Children who had more than one placement move during their first year were more likely to experience placement instability in long-term out-of-home care. (JPB)

This study examines the experiences of loss among parents whose children were in child protective custody that resulted from false accusations of abuse or neglect. In practice, child protective service assessments more times than not clear parents of charges of wrongdoing, however the impact of these investigations on parents has not yet been…

Policies governing divorce and parenting, such as child support orders and enforcement, child custody regulations, and marital dissolution requirements, can have a large impact on the welfare of parents and children. Recent research has produced evidence on the responses of divorce rates to unilateral divorce laws and child support enforcement. In…

"Speak Out for Children" is the quarterly newsletter of the Children's Rights Council (CRC), which is concerned with the healthy development of children of divorced and separated parents. The newsletter consists of feature articles and regular sections and columns. Feature articles of Volume 8, Number 1 are: "The Controversial…

The National Council for Children's Rights (NCCR) is a Washington-based advocacy group concerned with public policy affecting children of divorced and separated parents. This document contains papers presented at an NCCR conference. (Since publication of these proceedings, the organization has changed its name to the Children's Rights Council.)…

Emphasizing the shortcomings of family law and their impact on divorced families and children, this report discusses a variety of topics related to divorce. Topics covered in the report include the following: (1) divorce statistics; (2) methods of resolving family disputes; (3) the marital contract; (4) the public's image of divorced fathers; (5)…

This book asserts the need for two-parent involvement in child-rearing, even after separation and divorce. Following a preface by David L. Levy entitled "The Best Parent is Both Parents," and an introduction by Vicki Lansky, "How We Can Do it Better--Divorce American-Style," the book contains six chapters: (1) "Children as…

This paper applies what is currently known about gay fathers to the more specific issues of the non-custodial gay father. Good parenting is not easy for any father, but being a successful gay father is even more difficult. Since the gay father is typically a non-custodial parent, he must deal with his grief about the loss of contact and quality…

This document contains information relating to the 1987 Wisconsin State Senate Bill 203 which reorganizes existing crimes against children located throughout the criminal code into a separate chapter of that code relating solely to crimes against children. Part I explains key provision of the bill, noting that the bill would restate the child…

This handbook was written for parents, law enforcement officers, attorneys, and government officials who deal directly with cases of parental kidnapping. It provides a guide through the criminal and civil justice systems and a summary of the laws on parental kidnapping. Actions that parents can take and laws that may help them when their children…

Presents a decision-making model which is based on selected philosophical concepts and professional ethical guidelines and is designed to help child welfare practitioners deal with ethical issues in all aspects of their work. Use of the model is demonstrated in its application to selected aspects of a case study involving child custody…