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Foster youth are at increased risk of entering the justice system, particularly as they age out of foster care. The high prevalence of crime among foster youth has concerned practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Given the public attention to address the disproportionate rates of juvenile justice system involvement among young people in foster care, this study focuses on the association of the new federal legislation for extending foster care to age 21 with foster youth's juvenile justice system involvement. Drawing from 2006 to 2016 California state child welfare administrative data on individuals in care between their 16th and 18th birthdays (N = 69,140), this study (1) examines whether the extended care policy is associated with reduced juvenile justice system involvement and (2) compares juvenile justice system involvement between 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds during the periods before and after California implemented the extended care policy. The results show that youth approaching the age of majority in foster care were more likely to avoid juvenile justice system involvement after the state implemented the policy controlling for the general declining trend in delinquency petitions within the state, and that this was true for both age cohorts. These findings have national implications because in most states being transferred from the child welfare system to the juvenile justice system before reaching age 18 can result in later ineligibility for extended care available through Title IV-E benefits. Further implications and recommendations for professionals, researchers, and policymakers are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on two court cases related to child care orders and placement. Topics include a case where a mother appealed against a full care order, arguing that supervision orders or more time to demonstrate her ability to protect the children should have been considered. The President held that a care order with the plan for children to remain at home was appropriate only in exceptional circumstances, which were not present in this case.

Legal and relational permanence have long been viewed as a central outcome of child welfare services. Timely termination of parental rights (TPR) has been a cornerstone of these permanency efforts because TPRs facilitate permanency through adoption. Yet the number of adoption plans that are not finalized or sustained are not trivial. Over 2,000 youth emancipate from foster care each year and many more leave earlier but not before a TPR has occurred. Some states have passed legislation to allow reinstatements of parental rights. This paper reviews the range of factors state legislation includes, reviews scant existing literature on how TPRs may effect youth, and proposes several options for ways that unproductive TPRs can be reduced, and timely reinstatements increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Note builds on the burgeoning studies of hidden foster care across the nation and explores how this informal system works in Texas. Specifically, this Note relies on the work of Professor Gupta-Kagan from the University of South Carolina School of Law in understanding how hidden foster care can be especially problematic in Texas, which has one of the largest populations of children in kinship care. Recognizing there are also benefits to keeping children with family, this Note does not advocate prohibiting voluntary removals completely. Rather, this Note highlights the constitutional problems with this mechanism of removing children and explains how courts should treat voluntary safety plans with an eye towards ensuring their voluntariness. Then, this Note discusses how hidden foster care disadvantages kinship caregivers because of the lack of resources that are otherwise available to licensed foster parents. Further, recent changes in Texas’s child welfare law have made it more difficult to remove children from their home and accentuate concerns over using informal removals to avoid demonstrating their conformity with statutory requirements. The latter half of this Note explores solutions to the problems of hidden foster care and characterizes these solutions as retroactive or proactive. The retroactive solutions discussed draw from existing judicial practices in one Texas county that may keep hidden foster care families intact. The proactive solutions are relatively new to the discussion of hidden foster care, as they critique recent legislative bills and explain how Texas can use its newest infrastructure under the Family Preservation Pilot Program to provide court oversight over informal removals. To the extent that hidden foster care remains an extant and widespread practice in this state, these solutions are integral to ensuring the rights of parents and children to remain together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a lifetime involved in the child protection system from a unique autoethnographic perspective. Providing a descriptive account of the negative language, stereotypes and expectations, I have both experienced and witnessed in Victoria, Australia, I examine how the nexus between records, recordkeeping practices, the legal system, rights and Care experienced people perpetuates discrimination, and disadvantage and denies Care experienced people their rights. As research has grown, so has the recognition of the importance of recordkeeping to Care experienced people. This has been followed by demands that records be inclusive of the child, providing greater agency and autonomy. Academic and some Care experienced people are now seeking a Charter of Lifelong Rights in Childhood Recordkeeping in Out-of-Home Care. However, I recommend that there is a fundamental need to examine and understand the nexus between records, recordkeeping practices, the legal system, rights and Care experienced people. All the reforms, policies and legislative changes to date, have made little difference to the reality of Care experienced people. This nexus which I refer to as the inextricable conflict must be understood and addressed in ongoing research to avoid further ineffective reforms, policy and legislative amendments to ensure rights are enjoyed by all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanency has been a cornerstone concept in child welfare since the 1960s. Despite its endorsement as a best practice principle in promoting the wellbeing of children in child welfare care, debate persists about the key elements of the concept and their effects, particularly in relation to the emphasis on legal permanency when children in care cannot be reunited with their parents. This article describes results from a demonstration project using a Family Finding service model. It aimed to operationalize a multi-dimensional permanency definition where most of the children served were Indigenous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses legal decision of childhood vaccinations in the exercise of their parental responsibility under a care order and do not need to make an application under the inherent jurisdiction. It mentions use of the inherent jurisdiction as the ultimate safety net did allow the use of the inherent jurisdiction to deprive a child of their liberty in an unregistered children's home.

This study explored the implementation of the 2010 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and relevant statutes in 50 states and the District of Columbia and the associated impact on foster care entry for infants by substance exposure. Despite the overall increase of infants entering foster care with substance exposure, the variation in trajectory across states suggests that legislation may play a part but is not a sole causal factor in the entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author examines the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Lookback provision of the amended Social Security Act of 1961 as a barrier to sufficient federal foster care funding in the U.S. Also cited are the qualifications imposed by Louisiana in 1960 for recipients of welfare benefits, and the number of children under foster care in the country in 2017 based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Summary: Government and parliamentary inquiries into child protection have historically exerted a significant impact on policy and practice reform. Yet to date, there has been no analysis of the impact of such inquiries on programme and service supports for young people transitioning from out-of-home care (often termed leaving care). This article uses a content analysis methodology to critically examine and compare the findings of six recent Australian child protection inquiries (five at state and territory level and one Commonwealth) in relation to their discrete sections on leaving care. Attention is drawn to how the policy issue is framed including key terminology, the major concerns identified, the local and international research evidence cited and the principal sources of information including whether or not priority is given to the lived experience of care leavers. Findings: All six inquiries identified major limitations in leaving care legislation, policy and practice including poor outcomes in key areas such as housing, education and employment. There was a consensus that post-18 assistance should be expanded, and most of the reports agreed that greater attention should be paid to the specific cultural needs of the large number of Indigenous care leavers. Applications: Care leavers universally are a vulnerable group; leaving care policy should be informed by the lived experience and expertise of care leavers; governments have a responsibility to provide ongoing supports beyond 18 years of age, particularly in areas such as housing and education, training and employment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A scoping study provides a better understanding of how local authorities in China support care-experienced young people. • Twenty-two social policies in China are mapped and examined. • Across localities, housing and employment services are prioritised to support care-experienced young people. • Current policy responses are insufficient, and people's opportunities to access the stipulated support are quite limited. An increasing amount of attention is being paid to young people with care experience on an international scale. They are often associated with negative outcomes after leaving care, such as low educational attainment, unstable housing, job instability and social exclusion. While many countries have prescribed social policies for supporting them for a more fruitful transition out of care, there is little information available in the context of China at local levels. Given this, this paper maps and examines existing local policies, exploring how local authorities support care-experienced young people in China. To achieve, it adopts a scoping review. The findings highlight (i) China's local polices as a whole prescribe a variety of services, resources, and/or measures to support care-experienced young people, of which housing and employment are at the top of the list; (ii) current policy responses are insufficient, and opportunities of this group of people to access the stipulated support are quite limited. The findings of this study indicate that policymakers need to improve local policies in order to make them more operable, sophisticated, and comprehensive, so that care-experienced young people can reap the greatest benefits from them. Also, a national leaving-care policy that provides guidance to local authorities should be considered, adding consistency and clarity to relevant policies across the country. The limitations of this paper relate mainly to its review methods, which point to the need to expand data sources and conduct cross-reviews to enhance the findings' credibility and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is provided to articles within the special issue on the U.S. Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 ('Chafee legislation), with topics including U.S child welfare, juvenile justice administration and research methods.

Older youth in foster care require support to navigate the complex transition to adulthood. Once largely ignored by child welfare systems, over the past 20 years several policy developments for older youth transitioning from foster care have aimed to provide this support. The Foster Care Independence Act (FCIA) of 1999 established the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (now called the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood) provides states with more flexible funding to offer services to youth leaving care, the Chafee Education and Training Voucher program, added in 2001, provides resources to states for postsecondary training and education, and the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, allows states to extend foster care to young adults. These policies’ specific focus on older youth in care provided important, although still insufficient, supports to this population and sparked a research agenda to better understand the needs, circumstances, prospects, and outcomes of youth who are transition-age. In turn, this research has informed policy, program, and practice strategies to improve youths’ likelihood of successful adulthood. I consider some of the key themes in U.S.-focused research conducted since the passage of the FCIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the case related to The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT,) a health organisation in Northern Ireland concerning a 2012 Trust application for an order freeing ‘Mason' to be adopted by his long-term foster carers. It discusses 2012 proceedings concluded with the judge directing specified assessment and therapeutic intervention; and mentions that between October 2013 and 2018 reports were submitted to the judge from the guardian and the Trust.

Abstract This paper sets out to give a rounded view of the Irish foster care system as currently constituted. It will cover areas such as the law and policy framework, key data, key institutional actors, views of the system from the perspective of key stakeholders (care experienced adults and young people, foster carers and their children and the biological parents of children in foster care), and distinctive features of the Irish system. It will also offer a brief review of key influences that have helped shape the current system and Ireland's move from high use of institutional care to high rates of family placement. It will also consider challenges that still face policy and practice in the Irish foster care system. The paper takes a multi-disciplinary approach drawing on evidence from various perspectives including law, history and social policy. Offering the Irish case in this paper is not to claim or imply that the Irish system is fully developed or has resolved all its challenges. As will become clear, the argument here is that Ireland is an interesting case not because of any (erroneous) claim that it is the finished article as a foster care system. It is interesting because it is both a system that is still in development, and is also one that has already made the transition from a system dominated by residential care to one heavily reliant on family placement. Highlights • Ninety-two per cent of children in care in Ireland are placed in families (in both foster and kinship care) • This represents one of the highest family placement rates in care systems across the world • Previously the Irish care system relied heavily on institutional care like many Catholic countries • Ireland thus serves as an interesting case study of de-institutionalisation in a traditionally Catholic country • The paper offers a detailed overview of the current system of provisions for children in care in Ireland [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of children from out-of-home care is uncommon in Australia and rarely occurs in the state of Victoria. This paper reports on how professionals involved in making decisions about the permanent placement of children explain the current rates of adoption from out-of-home care in Victoria. Interviews were conducted with eight child welfare specialists, eight adoption and permanent care specialists and five judicial officers. The current low rates of adoption were attributed to the effect of current legislation, the impact of past adoption practices and the establishment of a culture in Victoria in which adoption is now rarely considered an option for children in out-of-home care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Youth shared that out-of-home care (OOHC) reminded them of jail. • Youth expressed they felt highly surveilled and controlled in out-of-home care. • Black youth articulated that they did not have any voice living in OOHC. • Carceral logic underpins the child welfare systems' policies and practices in care. • Child welfare workers may criminalize youth by involving the police in interventions. This article examines the intersections and paradoxes in out-of-home care (OOHC) for Black youth involved in Ontario's child welfare system and the ways in which those experiences mirror treatment in the judicial system. Using an anti-carceral theory, this article weaves together the intersecting threads of anti-Black racism and carceral logic to construct Black youth's experiences living in OOHC (non-relative foster care and group homes). Twenty-seven interviews were conducted with Black Caribbean youth from the Greater Toronto Area to understand their experiences in OOHC. In addition to exploring the ways in which OOHC is similar to carceral care, this study also describes youths' narratives of police contact and involvement while under the care of the child welfare system. The data revealed a connection between OOHC and jail, a lack of autonomy, and policing as an intervention for Black youth. Additionally, the findings illustrated how social workers' and child and youth workers' interactions are underpinned by carceral logic; their attempts to provide services to Black youth were often akin to policing, where surveillance, behavior management, and control were central to the ethics of care. Recommendations for policy and practice include reducing police intervention, ensuring both stability and flexibility, and discretion and honoring youth voice in applying policy and practice guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a court case where an Inner House decides on the correct point in time for applying the threshold test and its application where there is a pool of possible perpetrators in Scotland. It mentions that local authority had applied to the Sheriff Court for a Permanence Order with authority to Adopt (POA) and the sheriff had not granted this.

Comparative child welfare administrative data from each of the four jurisdictions of the UK (Scotland, England, Northern Ireland (NI) and Wales) were analysed over a ten-year period to examine rates and patterns of public care. Scotland followed by Wales has the highest rates of children in out-of-home care, followed by England and NI with similar lower proportions. Despite strong links between deprivation and higher chances of becoming looked after, this national variation appears more a reflection of differing legal and operational practice than higher levels of need for public care. Notwithstanding differing devolution settlements, a convergence in the direction of policy across the UK towards early intervention, extensive use of kinship care and adoption as an exit route from public care is apparent. This convergence is most apparent in the increased entry of very young children to public care in Scotland, NI and Wales. The lack of any systematic collection of data by governments on the social and economic conditions of children reflects a missed opportunity to examine separately their influence on rates of children in public care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s, legislatures and courts have adopted a variety of approaches to address foster care's overuse, instability, and lack of permanence. Most reforms focused on rules and procedures. It appears that there has been progress with respect to each of these issues, but the foster care system still has many deficiencies. It is unlikely that further changes in legal standards will significantly improve the system; the core issues relate to implementation of good practices. The foster care system now responds to three types of problems: protecting children from parental maltreatment; helping children who exhibit severe behavioral problems; and dealing with families experiencing high levels of parent-child conflict. Services should be redesigned to reflect differences in the issues presented by the three populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an in-depth examination of current practice in four jurisdictions in Texas. Sites were selected based on 2008 permanency outcome performance data from a report that highlights the need for a closer look at hearing practice. The study examined 74 permanent managing conservatorship hearings, across four jurisdictions and six judicial officers, with a focus on hearing quality indicators such as parties present, level of discussion, hearing delay, and a focus on finding a permanent home. Findings suggest that the courts that had better permanency outcomes in 2008 also had more practices consistent with holding a quality hearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the context surrounding the development of Florida's foster care privatization policy. Using a retrospective case study method, documents regarding the development of Florida's foster care privatization policy were collected and analyzed. Results suggest that the policy evolved in a manner consistent with Kingdon's (1984) policy development model, which incorporates factors in the political, problem, and policy domains. Alignment of opportunities in these domains set the stage for this policy's adoption. These findings build on those found in the research literature and provide a base for further research on the topic of child welfare policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the shift in emphasis from institutional to foster family care, in the south of Italy children in need are mainly looked after by residential services. These are required to provide family-style care and to place children on a short-term basis. Using data from research on a 100% sample of day units, residential services and children in care in the Calabria region, this article investigates the functioning of the system of care for vulnerable children at the sub-national level, describes looked-after children's characteristics and life conditions and questions the extent to which a real deinstitutionalisation process has occurred in this area. Finally, some deinstitutionalisation recommendations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs that according to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the preliminary reviews show that the average age of children in foster care is 9.6 years as of July 2010. It discusses the laws and regulation associated with child welfare and their adoption. It also mentions that various implementation issues such as the Fostering Connections Act that should be compared with existing legislation.

Youth in foster care face significant life challenges that make it more likely that they will face negative outcomes (i.e., school failure, homelessness, and incarceration). While the reason(s) for out-of-home placement (i.e., family violence, abuse, neglect and/or abandonment) provide some context for negative outcomes, such negative outcomes need not be a foregone conclusion. In fact, interventions created to serve at-risk youth could ostensibly address the needs of youth in foster care as well, given that they often face similar social, emotional, and other challenges. Specifically, the author posits that supporting foster care youth through the use of mentoring and social skills training could reduce the negative outcomes far too common for many of these youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the epidemic of psychotropic medication in child welfare system of the U.S. and how federal and state governments failed to address the mental health needs of children that are part of the system. Topics include the role of Fostering Connections Act, federal regulations on psychotropic medications, and best practices for legal prescription of psychotropic medications in appropriate ways.

The article discusses a court case wherein the High Court of Northern Ireland ruled for the discharge of a care order and issued a residence order in favour of elderly foster carers. A child, almost six years of age, was placed in foster care due to the chaotic lifestyle of her teenage mother. As of December 2006, the plan of the Trust was for adoption of the child via a freeing application. In 2010, an assessment was conducted to determine the potential of the mother and her new partner as prospective parents of the child.

How can foster care in Portugal be defined and characterized today? How relevant is it in the child protection system? What main obstacles does it have to overcome and what challenges is it facing? The purpose of this article is to reflect upon foster care, on the basis of its new legal framework (Decreto-Lei n.° 11/2008, 17 January), analyzing the different types of fostering it foresees, as well as the mechanisms of foster care families selection, training, and support. In its conclusion, the paper presents a number of ideas on the future of foster care in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the failure of the Permanency Bill of New York to address the needs of juvenile delinquents in foster care. It notes the inability of the legislation to adequately effectuate its goal of permanency for foster children while continuing to exclude juvenile delinquents from coverage. It compares the legislation and the permanency hearings of the past, revealing changes that have the potential to reduce the number of children aging out of the child welfare system. In addition, the article suggest solutions that would rectify the weaknesses of the legislation, including an amendment of the law to include juvenile delinquents.

The article focuses on issues surrounding foster care or adoption program in the U.S. The foster care program is created according to laws and upheld by each state. The Congress supplies funds to the program provided that the state abides by its features including disclosure restrictions, abuse reporting and foster home minimum health and safety standards. Certain issues are linked with the program which includes deficiency in the preparation of the children after leaving the program and sexual orientation. Furthermore, the limitations of the adoption program and the rights of biological parents are discussed.

The article discusses foster care reform in New York City. In the midst of the ebbs and flows of child foster care reform, the child is often lost. Politicians and waves of political rhetoric come and go, child advocates burn out, but the problems facing neglected and abused children remain. In response to the ever increasing number of children languishing in foster care, U.S. Congress has adopted two major pieces of legislation within the last twenty-five years: the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 and the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. New York City has also undertaken its own foster care reform. In the 1970s, a number of prominent child advocates raised concerns about the use of foster care as the first, rather than the last, alternative. A child rescue mentality drove many of the child welfare agencies at the time, which almost invariably translated into the removal of children from their homes and placement in foster care. Although well intentioned, this philosophy ignored both the psychological harm of separating children from their families and the fact that children removed from their homes often languished in foster care with little or no hope of being placed in a permanent home.

When a child welfare caseworker is deciding whether or not to remove a child from his or her biological parent or parents and to place the child in foster family care, the worker is making one of the most important decisions in both the parent's and the child's life. What is the foundation for this type of drastic intervention? This article reviews the scientific and clinical knowledge base developed to warrant professional intervention by the child welfare caseworker in this situation Intervention does not appear to have a sufficient scientific or clinical basis in the social work literature to suggest that this is a professional judgment that the child welfare caseworker should be called upon to make. At a minimum, court involvement in the decision-making process is required to provide sufficient justification for state involvement in family life until a firmer base for professional judgment can be demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that widespread planned destruction of client files is taking place in social service centers in the province of Quebec. The destruction of foster care files represents an abandonment of professional principles of social workers due to pressures arising from the increasingly juridical nature of child welfare work. Among the files being destroyed are those concerning family services, adult and elderly services, superior court services, social work services in hospital settings and foster care. Foster care services are provided within the context of child protection services.

The article discusses the suggestions for future research related to kinship care in the U.S. The number of children in foster home placements is increasing. However, not much research has been done in the field. Kinship care offers several potential benefits to children who must be placed. Placement with strangers in an unknown environment is avoided. Kinship care, however, has also raised several concerns. It is also thought that kinship providers are inadequately screened by public child welfare agencies and that the services provided to kinship families are often fewer compared to those provided by nonrelative foster families. From a legal perspective, it is clear that the governmental role and responsibility varies for these different groups of children.

The article discusses the foster care law of Romania. It describes the situation of children who are adopted internationally and those who are left behind. For those who are left behind, suggestions are made regarding how adoption agencies and other international organizations can use Romania's foster care and adoption laws to develop community-based alternatives to institutionalization. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections are prevalent in institutionalized Romanian children.

The article focuses on a report from the West German Federal Ministry for Youth, Family and Health Katharina Focke, in which she discussed the role of foster care programs in West Germany and the need for family care. Laws pertaining to youth services are addressed and the role of youth and family in society is examined.

The author examines litigation as a strategy for achieving systems reform and discusses, particularly, litigation related to foster care and the effects that it has had on current practice. She also discusses two theories of foster care litigation that have been advanced to find a basis for agency liability under the Civil Rights Act. Further, she views litigation as having the potential ultimately to assist administrators in securing the resources needed to bring about changes that are desperately needed in the foster care system.

The article discusses a court cases involving care of children in England and Wales. Parents of a 15-year-old boy with severe autism and attention deficit hyperactive disease (ADHD) who has been provided with full-time placement in a residential school filed for a appeal for the looked after status of the boy by the local authority. In another case, a single mother appealed to be given permission to apply to see her son who has been placed for open adoption.

The article presents updates on family law cases in England and Wales. Particular focus is given to the Court of Appeal's ruling on a permission to appeal refusal of leave to oppose the adoption application. In the LB Richmond v. B & W & B & CB case, care orders were applied by the London Borough of Richmond for two children whose mother had a severe alcohol misuse history. The local authority of Plymouth is seeking long-term fostering and adoption for three children in the Plymouth CC v. G (Children) [2010] case.

A notable development in child welfare provision in recent decades has been growth in certain jurisdictions of formal kinship care as a type of placement for children needing 'out of home' care. This trend raises the question of why formal kinship care has emerged in such a marked way in this period in some contexts. This paper sets out to explore this issue by investigating the emergence and development of formal kinship care in two neighboring jurisdictions in Europe where it now accounts for a substantial proportion of all care placements in Scotland and Ireland. The paper sets out a conceptual framework that considers the emergence of formal kinship care against the backdrop of the overall care systems in both jurisdictions and the wider set of societal kinship care practices relating to children. It traces key policy developments in the evolution of formal kinship care in both systems. It reviews policy challenges and influences that may help to account for the emergence and current relative importance of formal kinship care. This comparative case study aims to contribute to international debates about the development of formal kinship care. • Formal kinship care (FKC) has emerged as a critical part of many care systems. • FKC is often 'first option' for children who can no longer live with parents. • One in four children in care in Ireland and one in three in Scotland lives in FKC. • Priority for FKC reflects a belief in the value of the child belonging to a wider family. • Policy and legal measures gradually consolidated FKC in Scotland and Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Despite a preventive focus, the prevalence of infant placements is relatively high. • There prevalence of infant removal differ considerably across the Nordic countries. • Infant removal in Nordic countries has little attention in legislation and policy. • There is lack of research and guidelines for decisionmakers concerning infant removal. This descriptive policy analysis examines the position of infants' rights in the family service orientated child welfare systems of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden when being placed in out-of-home care. Its focus is on the contexts of, and legal procedures for, removing babies from home into public care. Children under the age of one year are taken into public care mainly through voluntary and emergency measures. Analysis of the development over a decade displays big intra-country differences in the prevalence of infant removal, varying from 2 per 1000 to 8 per 1000. The scant prevalence of public policy, practice guidelines and research indicates that infant removal is in some ways an anomaly, an unspoken leaf in the Nordic child welfare systems, whereas the Nordic welfare states otherwise extensively support families with young children through universal interventions. The findings invite to a re-examination of the rights of infants and their specific needs in the welfare states in order to establish responsive and efficient child protection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of legal representation to foster youth, few studies have examined perceptions related to this representation. This study investigated foster parent (N = 792) perspectives about the legal representation of foster youth involved in dependency court proceedings. All participants hailed from one southeastern state. Variables of interest included the impact of legal representation of foster care experiences, quality of legal representation, and attorney-youth communication, among others. Findings indicate that participants perceived legal representation to be vitally important to shaping foster care experiences. However, participants expressed a level of neutrality when asked about attorney competence. As well, participants indicated that attorney-youth relationships and communication between attorneys and foster youth were inadequate. This paper discusses findings related to this study and delineates salient practice, policy, and research implications derived from the data. • Foster parents perceived that legal representation is vital the overall experience of foster youth. • Foster parents expressed a level of neutrality when asked about attorney competence. • Foster parents indicated that attorney-youth relationships and communication between attorneys and foster youth were inadequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents update on several adoption and foster care legislation in Scotland as of December 2008. The Adoption and Children Act 2007 which authorizes the Scottish government to impose restrictions on adoptions from overseas countries will be effective on June 2009. Updates and implementation of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Act 2007 is available on the government website. The Education Bill aimed to increase support for learning was introduced at the Parliament on October 6.