Children, Social Science, and the Law

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Contributors......Page 15
1 Children, Social Science, and the Law......Page 19
A PREVIEW OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS......Page 20
Children’s Rights, Their Capabilities, and Society’s Responsibilities to Children......Page 21
Children and Family Change......Page 23
Juvenile Aggression and Juvenile Justice......Page 24
Children as Victims and Witnesses......Page 25
Conclusions and Future Directions......Page 27
References......Page 29
PART I CHILDREN’S RIGHTS, THEIR CAPABILITIES, AND SOCIETY’S RESPONSIBILITIES TO CHILDREN......Page 31
2 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996......Page 33
THE ROAD TO WELFARE REFORM......Page 34
THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT......Page 36
POVERTY, WELFARE, AND CHILDREN......Page 38
IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILDREN: RECENT RESEARCH......Page 40
Poverty, Income, and Child Development......Page 41
Parent–Child Relationships......Page 43
Child Maltreatment......Page 46
Child Care......Page 47
Nonmarital Childbearing and Teen Parenting......Page 50
Child Support......Page 52
Supplemental Security Income......Page 55
Summary......Page 56
Survey of Program Dynamics......Page 57
Welfare Reform and Children: A Three-City Study......Page 59
Child Care Under Welfare Reform......Page 60
Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project......Page 61
CONCLUSION......Page 62
References......Page 63
3 Advocacy for Children’s Rights......Page 69
The Changing Nature of the American Family......Page 70
The Changing Nature of Social Institutions......Page 72
Devolution......Page 73
HISTORY OF CHILD ADVOCACY......Page 74
Legislative Advocacy......Page 75
FUTURE FRONTIERS FOR ADVOCACY......Page 78
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: An International Consensus on Children’s Rights......Page 79
The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect’s Blueprint for an Effective Child Protection Policy......Page 85
Children’s Evolving Capacitites......Page 88
CONCLUSIONS......Page 89
References......Page 90
A BRIEF HISTORICAL CONTEXT......Page 94
Nurturance and Self-Determination Rights and Children’s Emergence as Persons......Page 95
Due Process Rights in Juvenile Justice......Page 98
Medical and Abortion Rights......Page 100
Rights Surrounding Mental Health Treatment......Page 102
Rights in School......Page 103
Participation and Protection Rights......Page 104
Inconsistency in the Extension of Rights to Children......Page 105
CHILDREN’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW AND THEIR RIGHTS......Page 106
Children’s Conceptualizations of Rights and the Legal System......Page 107
Children’s Ability to Invoke or Protect Their Rights......Page 109
CHILDREN’S COMPETENCE TO MAKE LEGALLY RELEVANT DECISIONS......Page 112
Informed Consent and Competence......Page 113
Social Science Research on Children’s Competence......Page 114
Conclusions, Limitations, and Future Directions for Research......Page 116
References......Page 118
5 Children’s Legal Representation in Civil Litigation......Page 124
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR CHILDREN......Page 126
MODELS OF REPRESENTATION AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR REPRESENTING CHILDREN IN LEGAL SETTINGS......Page 130
Attorney Models......Page 131
Nonattorney Models......Page 139
ROLE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE RELEVANT TO CHILDREN’S LEGAL REPRESENTATION......Page 141
CONCLUSION......Page 142
References......Page 144
PART II CHILDREN AND FAMILY CHANGE......Page 147
6 Termination of Parental Rights to Free Children for Adoption......Page 149
BALANCING THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS, FAMILIES, AND CHILDREN......Page 150
Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights......Page 153
Involuntary Terminations......Page 155
Summary......Page 158
THE RELATION OF THE PROCESS AND TIMING OF TERMINATIONS TO CHILD OUTCOMES......Page 159
Characteristics of Protracted Termination Decisions......Page 160
Consequences of Protracted Termination Proceedings......Page 161
Evaluating the Stability of Reunification and Adoption......Page 163
Summary......Page 164
IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILD WELFARE POLICY AND PRACTICE......Page 165
CONCLUSIONS......Page 166
References......Page 167
7 Child Custody Research at the Crossroads......Page 171
FAMILY REORGANIZATION AND CHILD OUTCOMES......Page 172
Individual Differences in Outcomes......Page 174
Risk Factors......Page 176
Protective Factors......Page 179
INCORPORATING RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS INTO CUSTODY DECISIONS......Page 183
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH......Page 185
References......Page 189
8 Children of Lesbian and Gay Parents......Page 194
LEGAL STATUS OF LESBIAN AND GAY PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN......Page 197
Sodomy Laws......Page 198
Child Custody and Visitation by Lesbians and Gay Men......Page 199
Adoption and Foster Care......Page 200
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH ON LESBIAN AND GAY PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN......Page 202
Children of Divorced Lesbian and Gay Parents......Page 203
Research on Children Born to or Adopted by Lesbian Mothers......Page 206
LEGAL AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS......Page 210
References......Page 214
PART III JUVENILE AGGRESSION AND JUVENILE JUSTICE......Page 219
9 Juvenile Transfer to Adult Court......Page 221
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF JUVENILE COURT LAW AND POLICY......Page 223
MECHANISMS FOR TRANSFER: HOW JUVENILES GET TO CRIMINAL COURT......Page 224
THE NEED FOR A STANDARD FOR TRANSFERRING YOUTH TO ADULT COURT......Page 225
DANGEROUSNESS AND TRANSFER TO ADULT COURT......Page 226
SOPHISTICATION-MATURITY AND TRANSFER TO ADULT COURT......Page 233
Sophistication-Maturity: Pursuing Construct Clarity......Page 234
Research on Sophistication-Maturity: Why Most Juveniles Would Not Meet the Threshold......Page 235
AMENABILITY TO TREATMENT AND TRANSFER TO ADULT COURT......Page 237
Family Factors and Amenability to Treatment......Page 240
Protective Factors and Amenability to Treatment......Page 241
CONCLUDING REMARKS......Page 242
Reverse the Ease with Which Youth Can Be Transferred to Adult Courts: Individualized Assessment Remains Key......Page 243
Develop More Sophisticated Programs to Improve Socialization in Youth......Page 244
References......Page 245
10 Youth Violence......Page 251
DEFINITIONAL ISSUES......Page 252
Macrosystem/Exosystem Factors......Page 253
Microsystem Factors......Page 257
Individual Level Factors......Page 261
DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES OF VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION......Page 264
PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION......Page 266
Prevention Strategies......Page 267
Treatment......Page 270
Issues in Program Evaluation and Special Considerations of Urban Youth......Page 271
Prediction of Youth Violence......Page 272
Amenability to Treatment......Page 275
Criminal Responsibility and Culpability......Page 276
CONCLUSIONS......Page 277
References......Page 278
11 Capacity, Competence, and the Juvenile Defendant......Page 288
Knowing, Voluntary, and Intelligent: The Miranda Waiver......Page 291
Understanding, Reasoning, and Appreciation: Adjudicative Competence......Page 292
Participating Effectively as a Defendant......Page 294
Miranda Waivers......Page 295
Competence to Stand Trial......Page 297
CONSIDERING THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT: COMPETENCE AND JUDGMENT......Page 299
Adolescent Judgment......Page 301
An Empirical Study of Judgment and Competence......Page 303
CONSIDERING CONTEXT: PARENTS AND ATTORNEYS......Page 304
Parents......Page 305
Attorneys......Page 307
IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND POLICY......Page 309
References......Page 311
PART IV CHILDREN AS VICTIMS AND WITNESSES......Page 317
12 The Effects of Community Violence on Children and Adolescents......Page 319
EXPOSURE TO CRIME AND VIOLENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS REACTIONS......Page 320
INTERVENTIONS FOR YOUTHS’ DISTRESS REACTIONS FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO CRIME AND VIOLENCE......Page 324
Exposure-Based Exercises......Page 327
Coping Skills Enhancement......Page 328
Social Support Availability and Utilization Enhancement......Page 329
Treatment and Prevention Interventions for Youth Who Have Been Exposed to Community Violence......Page 330
Treatment and Prevention Interventions for Violent Behavior......Page 331
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION......Page 334
References......Page 335
13 Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect......Page 340
Home Visitation......Page 341
Challenges to Community-Based Intervention Programs......Page 342
School-Based Prevention Programs......Page 343
Community-Based Prevention Programs......Page 345
Perpetrator-Focused Programs......Page 346
Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Laws.......Page 347
Mandated Reporting......Page 351
CONCLUSION......Page 354
References......Page 355
14 Children’s Eyewitness Memory......Page 360
The Process of Children’s Disclosure......Page 361
Developmental Factors......Page 363
Characteristics of the Abuse......Page 365
Parents’ Questioning and Reports of Children’s Disclosures......Page 366
TRAUMA AND MEMORY......Page 367
Research on Stress and Memory......Page 368
Abuse and Memory......Page 370
Abused Children’s Memory for Nonabusive Experiences......Page 373
CHILDREN’S FALSE REPORTS......Page 374
Repeated Suggestions and Interviewer Bias......Page 376
Critique of False Memory Research......Page 378
FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH AND LEGAL TRENDS......Page 381
Legal Trends......Page 382
Research Trends......Page 384
References......Page 386
15 Expert Testimony on the Suggestibility of Children......Page 396
THE RULE AGAINST INVADING THE PROVINCE OF THE JURY TO ASSESS CREDIBILITY......Page 400
Limitations on the Rule Against Invading the Province of the Jury to Assess Credibility......Page 401
THE RULE AGAINST TELLING THE JURY WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW......Page 405
Limitations on the Rule against Telling the Jury What They Already Know......Page 408
THE RULE THAT EXPERT TESTIMONY BE SCIENTIFICALLY VALID......Page 410
THE RULE THAT EXPERT TESTIMONY FITS THE FACTS OF THE CASE......Page 415
Limitations on the Rule That Expert Testimony Be Scientifically Valid and Fit the Facts of the Case......Page 420
CONCLUSION......Page 421
References......Page 424
16 The Status of Evidentiary and Procedural Innovations in Child Abuse Proceedings......Page 430
What Alternatives to Traditional Testimony Exist for Children in the United States?......Page 432
Tendency for Courts to Use Alternatives to Traditional Testimony in the United States......Page 436
Do Alternative Testimonial Procedures Reduce Children’s Stress and Increase their Accuracy?......Page 438
How Do Jurors View the Use of Alternative Testimonial Procedures?......Page 446
Conclusions and Caveats about Previous Research......Page 449
EXPECTANCY VIOLATION THEORY AND RELEVANT PSYCHOLEGAL RESEARCH......Page 454
PRESENT STUDY......Page 456
References......Page 459
PART V CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS......Page 465
17 Starting a New Generation of Research......Page 467
References......Page 470
18 What It Will Take to Bring Child-Focused Law, Policy, and Research into the 21st Century?......Page 472
REVERSING INEFFECTIVE, AND INAPPROPRIATELY PUNITIVE, POLICIES AFFECTING JUVENILE OFFENDERS......Page 474
HELPING CHILDREN IN THE COURTS BE BETTER HEARD AND REPRESENTED......Page 478
MAKING EFFECTIVE TREATMENT AND SERVICES AVAILABLE TO MORE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN NEED......Page 482
References......Page 484
Resources......Page 485
Author Index......Page 487
Case Index......Page 505
Subject Index......Page 508