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Several abstracts are presented on social law topics including the articles "Islam in the Mind of American Courts: 1800-1960," by Marie A. Failinger, "Separation, Deportation, Termination," by Marcia Yablon-Zug, and "Twombly and Iqbal: Effects on Hostile Work Environment Claims," by Michael O'Neil.

The article focuses on the involuntary termination of parental rights under the U.S. Indian Child Welfare Act. Topics include the removal of Native American children from their parents due to cultural bias in instances of neglect, the dual burden of proof required before the termination of parental rights, and the expert witness requirement.

The article focuses on the termination of parental rights (TPR) process in South Carolina prisons that is known to give incarcerated patients a fair treatment. Concerns and issues, it adds, on the TPR approach of South Carolina include the need for further development in addressing certain factors, the law allowing for the creation of legal orphans and the need for additional protection for incarcerated parents in the statute. It also offers suggestions for the improvement of the approach of South Carolina by including a guidance on best interests.

Objectives: All 50 states and the District of Columbia have statutes outlining the grounds for terminating parental rights (TPR) in relation to child abuse and neglect. Although recent research has found that parents with disabilities are not more likely to maltreat their children than parents without disabilities (), studies have found very high rates of TPR of parents with disabilities (). The objective of this study is to examine how states are including disability in their TPR statutes. Methods: This study used legal document analysis, consisting of a comprehensive Boolean search of the state codes of the 50 states and District of Columbia (DC) relating to TPR, using the most recent state code available on Lexis-Nexis in August 2005. TPR and related statutes were searched for contemporary and historical disability related terms and their common cognates, such as: “mental,” “disability,” “handicap,” and “incapacity.” Two researchers independently conducted the searches, and the searches were reconciled. A code list was then developed to measure for inclusion of disability, preciseness, scope, use of language, and references to accessibility or fairness. Statutes were then reanalyzed, and groupings developed. Results: Thirty-seven states included disability-related grounds for termination of parental rights, while 14 states did not include disability language as grounds for termination. Many of these state codes used outdated terminology, imprecise definitions, and emphasized disability status rather than behavior. All of the 14 states that do not include disability in TPR grounds allowed for termination based on neglectful parental behavior that may be influenced by a disability. Conclusions: The use of disability language in TPR statutes can put an undue focus on the condition of having a disability, rather than parenting behavior. Implications: This paper recommends that states consider removing disability language from their statutes, as such language risks taking the emphasis away from the assessment based on parenting behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using mixed methods, we compared appellate court foster care cases where parents'' rights were terminated to those in which decisions to terminate parental rights were reversed or remanded to better understand the experiences of parents struggling with alcohol and drug use. A content analysis of 60 cases was conducted; 30 cases in which parental rights were terminated, and 30 where decisions to terminate parental rights were overturned or remanded to the lower court. Parents whose rights were terminated were more likely to have mental health problems and experienced incarceration. In addition, when a composite score of risk factors was analyzed, parents whose rights were terminated had significantly more risk factors. For both groups, poverty was an equally common risk factor. Implications include universal assessments for alcohol and drug abuse for parents involved in the child welfare system and timely referrals to appropriate treatment. Further, collaboration between mental health providers, substance use treatment programs, and caseworkers to address the integration of potential risk factors may help promote successful outcomes for parents whose children are in foster care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There are more than half a million children in foster care in the United States. Some of these children are adopted into loving families, but many are considered hard to adopt and never find a permanent family. Research suggests that the outlook for the teens who exit or age out of foster care without a permanent home or a meaningful adult relationship is bleak. They are more likely to face homelessness, joblessness, drug addiction, early pregnancy, mental health problems, and prison time. With such grim statistics, states should explore every possible permanent family resource for youth in foster care. This Note proposes that, in limited circumstances, it is in the best interest of the child to vacate a final order of termination and reinstate parental rights. It calls for states to adopt a model state statute based on the five state statutes currently in place that already allow for the reinstatement of parental rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just as the courts must consider the trade-off between the best interest of the child and parental rights in involuntary termination of parental rights, policy on international adoption must consider the trade-offs between the best interest of the child and the long-term interests of the nation. We argue that countries that suspend international adoptions do not maximize social welfare. A consistent national policy to maximize the well-being of the children and society at large would be to devote resources today to the oversight of international adoption in accord with child protections under the Hague Convention, while at the same time developing a domestic system of care that provides for the physical and developmental needs of orphaned children in the context of permanent families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The best interests of the child is a legal standard that affects the lives of many children and families. Using state statutes, case law, and the professional literature, this article argues that the legal standard escapes definition. The consequences of the failure to define the standard are presented, and a research agenda for child advocates is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) as a response to children waiting in foster homes for years without permanent placement. In addressing the problem of permanency, however, Congress set a strict limit on how long a child could be in foster care (15 out of the most recent 22 months) before a state must either commence a proceeding to terminate parental rights or else lose valuable federal funding. Due to health care funding schemes and quality of treatment, this requirement, in particular, negatively impacts parents currently in drug rehabilitation whose parental rights may be permanently terminated before a realistic chance to recover is permitted. Although ASFA requires that states make “reasonable efforts” to keep families united, it does not define “reasonable efforts,” leaving parental rights and family unity subject to a chaotic interpretation of this requirement from state to state. “Reasonable efforts” should be interpreted to take into account current drug addiction and recovery research and drug court programs should be used to facilitate this goal. Research has shown that focusing on adequate treatment saves states money and improves the lives of children and their families, reducing the need for reliance on termination of parental rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, Congress has helped states develop demonstration projects enabling mothers at risk of incarceration for drug offenses to be diverted to community-based facilities to serve their sentence. Many of these projects allow mothers to live with their children while serving their sentence and completing a treatment program. While these demonstration projects are a step in the right direction, there are not enough of them to address the growing needs of mothers at risk of incarceration and children at risk of placement in foster care. With concentrated and thorough research assessing the effectiveness and possibilities for improvement of current demonstration projects, researchers can help demonstrate that it is sound for policy makers to move toward a nation-wide implementation of comprehensive community-based treatment programs for mothers and their children as an alternative to incarceration and foster care placement for families struggling with drug addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the tendency of emergency child removal decisions-by social workers, police officers, and judges-to become self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating in subsequent child protective proceedings. This snowball effect, as one court has referred to it, is widely acknowledged by lawyers who practice in juvenile court, yet is largely unknown beyond those circles. The article explores the causes and consequences of this phenomenon in the age of the 1997 federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), which converts every day that a child spends in foster care into one more tick of the clock in a countdown toward termination of parental rights. The article provides some background on the law and practice of emergency child removal in the United States today, analyzes the factors that make initial removals outcome determinative in many child protection cases, considers the implications of this phenomenon in light of ASFA, and identifies possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the tendency of emergency child removal decisions-by social workers, police officers, and judges-to become self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating in subsequent child protective proceedings. This 'snow-ball effect,' as one court has referred to it, is widely acknowledged by lawyers who practice in juvenile court yet is largely unknown beyond those circles. The article explores the causes and consequences of this phenomenon in the age of ASFA (the 1997 federal Adoption and Safe Families Act), which converts every day that a child spends in foster care into one more tick of the clock in a countdown toward termination of parental rights. This article provides some background on the law and practice of emergency child removal in the United States today, analyzes the factors that make initial removals outcome determinative in many child protection cases, considers the implications of this phenomenon in light of ASFA, and identifies possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study expands the literature on parents' mental health and risk of poor parenting by exploring the association between parental mental health diagnoses and types of child maltreatment among 522 parents who were adjudicated for child maltreatment by Israeli courts. The study was cross-sectional and used a manual for the content analysis of court cases. The results showed that 62% of the parents suffered from mental health problems, including emotional problems, personality disorders, mental illness or intellectual disability. Child neglect was associated with all types of mental health diagnoses for both the mothers and fathers. However, child abuse and specifically physical abuse were associated only with the mother's mental health diagnoses. The mother's mental illness and personality disorder predicted child neglect and the mother's personality disorder predicted child abuse, after controlling for poverty, child's intellectual disability and age. No mental health diagnosis of the father predicted child maltreatment. The study concluded that the effect of mental health condition is greater for mothers. A mother's personality disorder and mental illness should raise a special concern. Screening for maternal mental health in every case involved in the child welfare system and implications of the findings for prevention of child maltreatment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights issues involved in carrying out evaluations for termination of parental rights cases and suggests caution for mental health professionals doing such evaluations. It argues that current models of parenting that come from the child development and child maltreatment fields are too narrow in their focus to act as a foundation for such evaluations and are often based on research with select groups in our society making them open to bias. Similarly, it is argued that traditional assessment measures are limited in their utility for responding to the kinds of relational and basic care questions asked in such evaluations. A functional-contextual model is offered as an alternative with examples of potentially useful measurement strategies. With such a frame as a starting point, the field might progress to providing more useful information to courts. Future research directions to improve this practice arena are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a national movement which supports the creation and development of a court-assigned legal counsel requirement for child welfare and termination of parental rights cases in America as of May 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court cases Gideon v. Wainwright and Lassiter v. Department of Social Services are addressed, along with the deprivations of parental rights and the American Bar Association. Parents' lawyers are mentioned, along with the Center for Family Representation.

The article offers news briefs related to juvenile law in the U.S. A case that involves an appeal by a father on the termination of his parental rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). The Minnesota Court of Appeals reviewed the termination of a father's parental rights on the petition to declare his son a Child in Need of Protection or Services (CHIPS). The Minnesota Supreme Court reviewed a case wherein an old defendant gave up his certification hearing.

The article discusess various Indian law court cases such as In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of S.R.K. on termination of parental rights under Indian Child Welfare Act; Stand Up for California v. U.S. Dep't of Int. on Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

People with intellectual disabilities face proceedings to terminate their parental rights with disturbing regularity, with protecting the interests of offspring the primary justification. Although protecting children from harm is surely critical, these termination proceedings involve problematic assumptions about how fitness to parent is understood, how parenting is legally constructed, and what nondiscrimination requires for parents with intellectual disabilities. Using Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a model, it suggests two alternatives to the all-or-nothing termination processes in place today that might better realize the enjoyment of legal capacity as parents on an equal basis with others for people with intellectual disabilities: limited terminations analogous to limited guardianships and supported parenting along the lines of supported decision making proposed in the CRPD.

The article discusses Arkansas Supreme Court case Scudder v. Ramsey in which the court held that visitation rights of natural grandparents do not survive the adoption of their own adult children. Topics discussed include parental rights, the impact of adult adoption on the legal right of natural grandparents to visit their grandchildren, and the impact of the termination of parental rights of an individual during a dependency-neglect proceeding on derivative visitation rights.

Human rights – Respect for family and private life – Discrimination in enjoyment of – Court denying divorced father access to child on ground that imposition on child of religious convictions based on adherence to Hit Gyülekezete, causing psychological harm – Whether denial of access amounting to discrimination against father on religious grounds when compared to parent with no religious belief – European Convention on Human Rights, art 14 in conjunction with art 8 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents summaries of several legal cases which are on appeal before the Idaho Supreme Court and the state's Court of Appeals as of March 2013, including legal matters dealing with issues such as adverse possession, habeas corpus, and summary judgment. Other topics include criminal appeals, search and seizure laws, and the termination of parental rights. Protection orders and collective bargaining are also addressed.

The article presents brief summaries of several civil and criminal legal matters which are awaiting decisions from either the Idaho Supreme Court or the state's Court of Appeals as of February 2013, including cases involving attorney fees, the termination of parental rights, and common use easements. Other topics include sentencing reviews, alleged judicial abuses of discretion, and search and seizure laws.