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As the number of high profile cases of institutional child abuse mounts internationally, and the demands of victims for justice are heard, State responses have ranged from prosecution, apology, and compensation schemes, to truth commissions or public inquiries. Drawing on the examples of Australia and Northern Ireland as two jurisdictions with a recent and ongoing history of statutory inquiries into institutional child abuse, this article utilises the restorative justice paradigm to critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of the inquiry framework in providing 'justice' for victims. The article critically explores the normative and pragmatic implications of a hybrid model as a more effective route to procedural justice. It suggests that an appropriately designed restorative pathway may enhance the legitimacy and utility of the public inquiry model for victims chiefly by improving offender accountability and 'voice' for victims. The article concludes by offering some thoughts on the broader implications for other jurisdictions in responding to large-scale historical abuses and seeking to come to terms with the legacy of institutional child abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a call for reform involving America's Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) remedy which is available to abused, abandoned, and neglected children in the country, and it mentions legal protections for undocumented immigrant children in the U.S., as well as information about legal permanent resident status in America. State juvenile courts in places such as New York are addressed, along with injustice and various SIJS statutory interpretations.

This article provides historical evidence of attempts in late nineteenth-century Victoria to establish two sets of institutions for children designated as ‘neglected’ and ‘criminal’, seeking to mark out lines of separation between the neglected, orphans and children in need of protection on the one hand, and children who have been convicted of an offence on the other. The evidence shows that the actual workings of these institutions and the systems of knowledge underpinning them are much less clearly differentiated than their formal designation suggests. It shows also that administrative knowledge and know-how, rather than formal legal process, lay at the centre of decision-making affecting these children, and that expertise shifted over time its engagement with an emerging human science of children. The article suggests that despite claims that child welfare is progressively improving their life-chances, vulnerable children in this period were criminalised by practices of a welfare system that was set up to protect them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the need for expanding relief to children living in homes where there is domestic violence by making them eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) relief. It discusses amendments to SIJS such as Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) addressing the need of unaccompanied children. It explores difficulties faced by undocumented children in accessing SIJS relief.

This study aims to briefly explain the current child abuse laws as they relate to 18-year-old child abuse victims in Japan who are no longer minors, but not yet adults. It explains the gap in services during this transitional period and presents the results of a survey, distributed to 275 facilities, requesting information about this problem. It also examines the status of current support systems available to help these transitional abuse victims, who are on the verge of becoming adults, in establishing lives independent of their parents; and give some suggestions to improve the support system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the intersection of chemical dependency and mental health issues with the timelines associated with America's juvenile protection system as of 2014, and it mentions the legal aspects of concurrent planning and the termination of parental rights in places such as Minnesota. The legal rights of abused children are examined, along with child protection laws, the enactment of Minnesota's neglect statute in 1905, and the U.S. Adoption Assistance of Child Welfare Act of 1980.

The article focuses on the right of due process for children during dependency cases in the U.S. Topics discussed include rights of children such as youth delinquents and abused children being recognized under the parens patriae doctrine, abuse and neglect toward children in dependency cases, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) applied in dependency cases, the child welfare system of Georgia facing class action under Kenny A. v. Perdue and Guardians ad litem in such cases.

The article presents an analysis of Puerto Rico law no. 246 for child protection approved on December 16, 2011, with a focus on the rights and responsibilities of parents in cases of child abuse. A comparison between the derogated law no. 177 and the no. 246 is offered, highlighting the work of the Puerto Rico Department of the Family regarding prevention of child abuse, and protection of abused children.

Abused, neglected, and abandoned immigrant youth face numerous obstacles to physical safety, including potential repatriation (deportation) to abusive caretakers from whom they fled. In recognition of the special needs of abused children, Congress enacted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) to provide a previously unavailable child welfare defense to deportation. The remedy is contingent upon a State court declaration that the youth is, in fact, in need of protection. However, unlike their counterparts in foster care or guardianships, youth detained by the federal government face numerous practical and legal roadblocks to accessing the necessary State court declarations. This article identifies several gaps in State laws which impede detained youths' access to State court declarations, and proposes several remedies which would enable the States to carry out Congress' intent that detained youth have access to SIJS, regardless of detention status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of plaintiff anonymity during civil litigation of childhood sexual abuse cases. It informs that granting anonymity to plaintiffs is a strong way to encourage the victims to come forward. It also informs that by consistently granting anonymity to plaintiffs, victims will find it easy and more willing to face their past and salvage their future.

ABSTRACT Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is a form of immigration relief available to undocumented children who are under the jurisdiction of a state juvenile court (defined broadly), who cannot be reunified with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment, or similar basis under state law, and in whose best interest it is to remain in the United States. Although immigration is a federal issue, Congress has directed that state juvenile courts make the factual findings that establish basic SIJS eligibility. Without these findings, children may never be able to legalize their status in the U.S. and become productive, contributing members of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective To ascertain the strength of the association between childhood disability and abuse and neglect. Methods Systematic review of population-based studies published between 1966 and January 2006. Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane library, National Research Register, Social Sciences database and PsychInfo databases were searched for potentially relevant studies. Inclusion criteria: population-based cohort, case–control or cross-sectional studies of children <18 years of age that reported empirical data on the association of abuse with disability. Risk estimates were expressed as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) where possible. Meta-analysis was not undertaken because of heterogeneity of studies. Results Four studies met the inclusion criteria. Two were longitudinal studies, one was a retrospective birth cohort and the remaining study was a cross-sectional survey. Types of disability studied varied widely as did methods used to ascertain abuse and neglect. Two studies accounted for potential confounding. Three studies reported an association between psychological and emotional disabilities and abuse. Two studies reported an association of learning disability with abuse. Only one study examined the association of physical disability (cerebral palsy) with abuse reporting an adjusted odds ratio for all forms of abuse of 1.79 (95% CI 0.96, 3.36) and for physical abuse of 3.00 (95% CI 1.29, 6.78). Conclusions The evidence base for an association of disability with abuse and neglect is weak. Psychological and emotional problems, and learning difficulties appear to be associated with abuse but this association might arise because these conditions share a common aetiological pathway with abuse. There is limited evidence that physical disability predisposes to abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the topic of Shaken Baby Syndrome and the consequences for surviving children and those that care for them. The impact of both the civil law and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in Great Britain are considered. The article addresses perceived inadequacies in the multi-disciplinary approach to dealing with compensation in such cases and in the compensation systems themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current data show that infants represent an increasing proportion of cases of child maltreatment. To learn more about how infants fare in the current system and to provide baseline data against which to compare outcomes following recent legislative reforms, this study examined a subsample of infants in a sample of 200 care and protection cases brought before the Boston Juvenile Court in 1994. Child, parent, and case characteristics of infants 0 to 3 months of age (n = 46) were compared with characteristics of older children in the sample. All cases were followed prospectively for 4 years, and data were abstracted from court records. Results revealed that the infants were primarily children of substance abusers who had extensive prior histories of child protective service system involvement. Although the majority of the infants were eventually permanently removed from parental custody and adopted, many experienced time delays and multiple placements before achieving permanent homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the videotaping of interviews with child abuse victims as reflected in the article `When Cameras Roll,' by Victor I. Vieth. Resolution of the debate on videotaping victims in some jurisdictions; Adoption of the policy of videotaping interviews by some countries; Possible shift of focus from child statements to interviewer behavior; Defense lawyers and academics' support for video interviews.

Examines some laws about child abuse in New York. Legislation on the reporting of child abuse cases; Discussion of the law about the child protective proceedings in the Family Court; Examination of the laws on the link between parental drug abuse and child abuse on the disposition of the case.

Discusses the legal requirements in the United States for reporting child abuse and neglect. Specific provisions under the 1974 National Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act; Methods of reporting child abuse and neglect; Liability for failure to report suspected child abuse and neglect; Legal action involving child abuse.

Discusses the role of courts in the protection of abused children and intervention in child abuse cases. Limitations of the Family Court in hearing child abuse cases; Scope of the court's jurisdiction on child abuse cases; Statistics on child abuse cases in New York during 1970; Responsibility of judges in making decisions on child abuse cases.

The article presents a profile of Idaho attorney Michael Elia as of October 2012, focusing on Elia's charitable contributions, his acceptance of pro bono legal work from the state's Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (CASA) program, and his advocacy work on behalf of neglected children. It states that Elia is a partner at the Moore & Elia LLP law firm.

The article discusses the plight of parents in cases of child abuse. It is now some decades since the growing awareness of the different types of child abuse fundamentally changed the work of consultant pediatricians and of social workers. The idea grew that the protection of the child should take precedence over all other considerations, but this idea presupposes a well functioning system in which authority figures such as consultant pediatricians make few major mistakes. I find it difficult to accept that the only steps usually open to parents are to make a complaint to the very organization concerned (until the organization eventually agrees to allow an independent inquiry) or to try to obtain a judicial review (which is beyond the means of many parents). Parents have to answer serious charges by a number of authority figures unaided, unrepresented, and in a potentially frightening environment. Even if an accused parent or carer were to have good answers to mistaken or unsupported charges by senior figures, there would still be a likelihood that the social services would retain a degree of suspicion or uncertainty. At the least this suspicion might result in placement of the child on the at-risk register, possibly with restriction of visiting or other orders. It would also be helpful if accused parents due to face powerful professionals in a potentially intimidating environment had the right to submit the relevant papers to an independent professional and that an alternative view of the situation, if so held, could be presented. There are few other circumstances where an accused person risks (for them) such a serious outcome without representation. I do not believe that such a measure would shield parents who abuse their children, as the parents' representative would need to be an experienced and independent professional in good standing, and it would help the maintenance of best practice in child protection work.

This paper employs DeShaney v Winnebago County (1989) as an illustration of how the law has lost sight of the interests of children in cases of child maltreatment. The historical constitutional context of child maltreatment - balancing state's interests and parental rights - is discussed. The opinions in DeShaney and two of the major criticisms of the majority's opinion - the action versus inaction dichotomy and the restrictive interpretation of the special relationship doctrine - are then considered. Legislatively created entitlements to protection are suggested as an avenue of relief for injured children which also necessitates a focus on the rights and interests of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]