CRITIQUE OF CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS BY THE LEGAL PROFESSION

This study explored the congruency between child custody evaluations and the needs of the legal profession. One hundred twenty-one judges and attorneys were surveyed. In general, both groups expressed similar attitudes and beliefs. Findings indicated that court-ordered evaluations were most useful, and objectivity was paramount. Judges and attorneys also expressed a need for improvements in child custody reports, particularly greater child focus, provision of custody and visitation recommendations, discussion of legal criteria, and timely completion of evaluations. It is hoped that the findings will inform professional practice and help evaluators better serve the needs of the family court.     

REHABILITATION POLICY IN THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF CHILD AND RAPED WOMEN AS VICTIMS

The research focused on identifying the rules or norms of positive law, relating to Article 64 paragraph （3） letter a of Act No.23 of 2002 carried through rehabilitation efforts, both within the institution and outside the institution. The treatment between the rights of offenders and the rights of victims is equal in the criminal justice system. Positive in criminal law today is more emphasis on the protection of non-physical rehabilitation of order been done ＂in abstracto＂ or indirectly acoords legal system in Indonesia embraces the Civil Law svstem,     

LEGAL USE OF MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATIONS IN CHILD PROTECTION PROCEEDINGS

The authors examine the use of mental health evaluations in legal decision making within a large, urban juvenile court system. The focus was on court files in child protection cases relating to 171 randomly selected mental health evaluations completed on parents and 44 evaluations completed on children. Parent evaluations (46.7%) were much more likely to be present in court files than child evaluations (5.9%), and evaluations conducted by in-house court clinicians (63.8%) were more often present than those conducted by noncourt clinicians (37.5%). References to evaluations in child welfare, legal, or mental health documents varied with the type of information, subject (parent or child), and source of the evaluation. Findings and/or recommendations of evaluations were cited in legal or mental health documents for approximately two thirds of parent evaluations but only one third of child evaluations. Evaluation findings and/or recommendations were stated as a basis for legal decisions in 36.2% of court-based parent evaluations, 21.0% of noncourt-based parent evaluations, and 2.3% of child evaluations. These results provide evidence of a modest impact of parent evaluations on legal decisions and notably less impact for child evaluations. The authors suggest directions for future research and practice in order to increase the accessibility and usefulness of clinical evaluations in legal decision making.     

A CASE FOR REFORM OF THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

There are more than half a million children in our nation's foster care system. While foster care is intended to provide a temporary safe harbor for abused and neglected children, too many of these youth spend years in foster care limbo—experiencing a turbulent life in motion as they move from placement to placement, community to community, and school to school. Youth in foster care commonly fail to receive basic health and psychological care, and nearly 20,000 youth age out of foster care every year to an adult path of homelessness, unemployment, and despair. Our entire community must work together to more responsibly parent these youth. This article will address how lawyers and child advocates can advocate for new approaches and enhanced support on behalf of the voiceless and most vulnerable members of our community. It will address existing hurdles and systemic challenges that have helped to create the current disheartening status quo. The article will then discuss strategies that advocates can employ to turn the corner on behalf of these youth at risk.     

IMPROVEMENT OF CLINICAL AND LEGAL DETERMINATIONS IN CASES OF ALLEGED CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

Mental health and legal professionals have struggled, too often isolated from each other's disciplines, to establish methods to assess and demonstrate whether a particular child has been abused and whether a particular adult is, in fact, the perpetrator. Complete, accurate, and neutral assessment must be the first step in the healing process; however, barriers imposed by professionals often interfere with the assessment process. This article critiques these barriers and suggests improvements for both good clinical practice and effective use in increasingly adversarial legal proceedings.     

INDEPENDENT LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR CHILDREN IN CUSTODY AND ACCESS CASES

In this article, the author discusses the role of children's representation in custody and access cases, and in particular, considers whether the Stobridge case came to a correct determination of the most appropriate role for children's counsel. The three possible modes of child representation are considered: amicus curiae, litigation guardian, and advocate. The role of amicus curiae is rejected because it does not provide the child with an opportunity to be heard, thus defeating the purpose of representation. The role of litigation guardian is rejected on the basis that the guardian does not advocate the child's interests unless they are consistent with that of the guardian. The author concludes that Stobridge was correctly decided, and that the role of children's counsel in a custody or access dispute in which the children are capable of directing counsel should be that of advocate.     

A LEGAL PROTECTION OF THE SUGARCANE FARMERS IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF A WELFARE STATE IN THE LOCAL AUTONOMY ERA

After the policy on the local autonomy is implemented, the legal protection of the sugar cane farmers has not yet been able to improve wellfare of farmers, due to some factors. First, the regulations have not taken sides to the welfare of the farmers and no synchronization exists, even there has been a disharmony in various regulations on the protection of the sugar cane farmers. Second, the farmers institutions have not been well organized, and this condition makes the bargaining position of the farmers weak when they face external powers, either the government or the capital owners. Third, land availability to plan sugar canes always decreases. The land possession of farmers is reduced among the macro-economic phenomenon. Ironically, at present 49.5% of farmers in Java and 18. 7 % farmers out of Java are not land owners. Therefore, philosophically, the legal protection of the sugar cane farmers in the future should still refer to the rechtides as stated in Pancasila （Five Basic Principles）. Sociologically, such a protection should reflect the factual condition, and give benefits for farmer welfare and juridically, synchronization and harmonization of the regulations should be quickly made.     

IMAGINING THE LAW: COMMON LAW AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Now Doniger paced, using Kramer as an audience of one, "We are all ruled by the past, although no on understands it. No one recognizes the power of the past" he said, with a sweep of his hand.
"But if you think about it, the past has always been more important than the present. The present is like a coral island that sticks above the water, but is built upon millions of dead corals under the surface, that no one sees. In the same way, our everyday world is built upon millions and millions of events and decisions that occurred in the past. And what we add in the present is trivial.     

LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF CASES WITH AN ALIENATED CHILD

Cases entering the family court with an alienated child require intensive and coordinated case management to intervene effectively. It is critical to link the authority of the court with the delivery of mental health services to address the complex systemic factors that may entrench a chilďs unwarranted rejection of a parent. This article provides principles of legal and psychological case management for families with an alienated child, followed by various structural interventions, including sample court orders, for managing these cases as they progress through the family court process. Finally, criteria for making custody recommendations in the most severe cases of child alienation are provided.