This document provides witnesses' testimony and prepared statements from two sessions of the Congressional hearing called to examine allegations of sexual abuse of children by parents or stepparents, and the problems associated with children's court testimony in criminal sexual abuse cases. Testimony from the first session includes statements from…

In the last decade, the rising number of divorces has resulted in large numbers of children lviing in one-parent homes. A review of the literature on the impact of divorce on children's psychosocial adjustment, cognitive development, school peformance, and sex role development revealed several interesting findings. Age of children at time of…

Reviews the research literature on children's experience of the restructuring of the family following divorce. The effects of divorce are organized according to differences observed as a function of the child's age and gender, parental conflict, post-divorce family stability, and parent-child relationships. Conflict reducing custody arrangements…

Reports on research about single-father families and discusses implications for early childhood educators. Suggests that educators encourage the single-father, adapt to his schedule, cope with adult and child stress, provide parenting information, become aware of custody arrangements, and adjust the curriculum for all children. (AS)

Recently, adoptive parents have successfully sued placement agencies for wrongful adoption or fraudulently misrepresenting or neglecting to give a child's medical or family history. Adoption agencies' policies about disclosing the medical and social history of adoptees have been cyclical and have developed because of specific social factors; such…

Court-appointed child advocates, attorneys, guardians ad litem, and therapists (total n=116) made custody decisions and abuse likelihood ratings for children in one of two vignettes that varied as to whether mother or father was incompetent to parent without threat of further abuse. Decisions were not affected by sex role stereotypes,…

Interviewed caregivers of related children who were in the custody of the state child welfare system, as the state implemented new federal and state policies encouraging caregivers to adopt or assume guardianship of the children in their care. Noted issues of concern and caregiver recommendations for the child welfare system. (Author)

Investigated the impact of parental substance abuse on development of children in foster care. Found that although foster children presented low average cognitive scores, they improved significantly in cognitive functioning during placement. Children with prenatal drug exposure scored significantly lower but made more progress than other children…

Investigated outcomes of referring child welfare clients for substance abuse, examining relationships between gender, prior treatment, court-ordered intervention, significant others' support, and treatment and placement outcomes. Found that significant others' support positively influences all outcomes, while court-ordered intervention was not…

Intended as a practical guide for grandparents raising their grandchildren, this book contains information and ideas about meeting grandchildren's needs and vignettes describing the coping strategies of many grandparents. The book consists of five chapters. Chapter 1, "Finding Help, Growing in Hope," describes reasons for grandparents…

This document consists of three years (12 issues) of a quarterly newsletter that addresses the healthy development of children of divorced and separated parents. The National Council for Children's Rights (NCCR) (now the CRC, the Children's Rights Council, Inc.) advocates reducing divorce by strengthening families through divorce and custody…

Divided into three parts, this book was written to foster healing for divorcing parents and to help divorcing couples support their children. Part one deals with interpersonal issues and individual growth. The reader is lead through the personal processes of divorce; actions parents can take to help themselves and their children adjust to the…

This paper focuses on pre-adolescent children and how they cope with parental divorce. It considers the case of split custody, more common among older children than younger ones, in which one parent has custody of one or more of the children and the other parent has custody of one or more of the siblings. It focuses on the sibling relationship and…

Current trends in psychological research stress the role of family members in developmental studies, and this trend may be applied to the study of divorce and child custody in Japan. Japanese families are influenced by other social systems, including neighborhood and religious groups, and traditionally these systems have combined with relatives to…

Examined the history of adoption practices for children of color at the Boys and Girls Aid Society of Oregon. During the period studied (1944-77), 466 children of color were placed with adoptive parents of the same or different race. The agency pioneered new practices, yet also reflected broader social factors regarding adoption and attitudes…