Describes the Screening and Evaluation Project (SEP), a longitudinal study examining the range of problems in 167 children entering protective custody in Sacramento, California, for reasons of abuse or neglect. Found that 68% of the children were at risk according to one or more of the four standardized assessment instruments that measured…

Describes two distinct service models developed in New York City for providing mental health and custody-planning services to families with HIV/AIDS. Project Talk uses cognitive behavior techniques with groups of parents and their teenage children. Project Care employs a psycho-educational approach to counseling mothers and children in their…

This document contains papers presented at the Seventh National Conference of the Children's Rights Council, also known as the National Council for Children's Rights. The papers presented were: (1) "Alternatives to the Adversarial Process for Resolution of Child Custody Cases" (Hugh McIsaac); (2) "New Decision Making Models in Child…

Under Oklahoma's new "in need of treatment" (INT) procedure, juvenile commitments have increased 10 times since 1983. About 8% of commitments are American Indian children. Generally, the mental health dilemma of Indian communities is characterized by multiple and interacting problems, acute symptoms masked by related problems such as…

This document provides witness testimony and prepared statements from the Congressional hearing called to determine if the federal government, through the proposed legislation, can help in locating missing children and in assisting their families. The text of H.R. 4971 is given and is followed by statements from directors and representatives of…

This issue of WIN (Welfare Information Network) Issue Notes focuses on helping low-income mothers with criminal records achieve self-sufficiency. Section 1 offers background. Section 2 answers these policy questions: why states might want to focus on serving low-income mothers with criminal records; how states can encourage employers to hire…

This document compiles the six issues of Volumes 15 and 16 of the "Speak Out for Children" newsletter, published to strengthen families through education and to assist children of unwed parents, separation, and divorce. The Spring 2000 issue contains articles on Wisconsin's shared parenting law, the U.S. Senate's consideration of a…

This document comprises the three issues of Volume 14 of the "Speak Out for Children" newsletter, published to strengthen families through education and to assist children of unwed parents, separation, and divorce. The Spring 1999 issue contains articles on National Child's Day, joint custody presumptions, changes in children's life and…

Using data on 509 cases from a census of a large Michigan county's divorces involving minor children filed in the early 1980s, modeled the likelihood that mothers versus fathers would receive sole custody. Found substantial gender differences in the effects of socioeconomic and legal process variables on custody outcomes. (JBJ)

Examined normative expectations regarding changes in a child's physical custody following divorce. Subjects (n=309), responding to a vignette about a divorced couple and their 16-year-old son, yielded no significant main or interaction effects. However, themes in open-ended responses, such as the child's wishes should prevail, were apparent. (RJM)

Reviews Goldstein and others' work concerning identification of the least harmful alternative in complex child custody situations. Notes that the book's major assumption is that children's needs are paramount and families are inviolate except in extreme cases. Maintains that the book has clear assumptions and values, recommendations following…

This report provides a snapshot of the academic performance, as assessed by literacy and numeracy test scores, of children on guardianship or custody orders in 2003. The educational performance of these children are compared with all children sitting these tests, and differences in academic performance between particular subgroups of children on…

Many researchers have cited the trauma of divorce as being second only to that incurred by the death of child. Yet divorce does not mean the end of a family or of parenting responsibilities. This book focuses on co-parenting and how real divorced parents attempt to make a "family apart" function successfully. The stories and quotes were…

This book addresses the clinical, legal, and ethical issues arising in child sexual abuse cases; the assessment and case management of allegations; research issues; and practice recommendations. Chapter titles are as follows: "Assessing Allegations in Child Sexual Abuse: An Overview" (Tara Ney); "The Nature of Allegations of Child…

This paper deals with the psychological processes and emotional experiences of children whose parents are going through the process of divorce and the complications posed by divorced or divorcing parents moving to new locations. The paper begins with a discussion of the implications of divorce, claiming that divorce is a change that affects…