JOURNEY FROM SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE

One of the most important journeys that we can take as individuals is the journey from success to significance. Success is what we become and what we achieve when we value ourselves. Significance, however, is what we become and what we achieve when we value others. In this article, based on remarks by Judge David W. Young at the May 2007 “Summit on Unified Family Courts,” Judge Young invites us on a journey, first described by John Maxwell in The Journey from Success to Significance. Judge Young further explores what the journey from success to significance entails and reminds us that any success we have will leave the world with us while our significance will continue to live on in future generations through our service to children, families, and others.     

BARRIERS TO REUNIFICATION FOR INCARCERATED PARENTS—A JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVE

Within the child welfare system, going to jail does not automatically mean losing your children. As the number of incarcerated parents rises, California dependency bench officers are looking at the effects incarceration has on parents seeking to reunify with their children. The California legislature passed legislation allowing a dependency judicial officer to consider the effect incarceration has on parents' performance and to grant additional reunification if a parent's progress is hindered by incarceration. In Los Angeles County, the Incarcerated Parents Working Group was specifically created in 2009 to look at the services available to incarcerated parents and what barriers these parents face in their efforts to reunify. Additionally, the working group has created judicial training on this subject for their bench officers and for other judicial officers throughout the state.     

FROM ADDICTION TO ABSTINENCE: MAXIMIZING THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS

While advances in neuroscience have clearly delineated the areas of the brain that are affected by mood-altering drugs, the success rate of treatment for people dependent upon or addicted to these drugs remains essentially unchanged over the last several decades. This is due in large part to paying inadequate attention to the craving that occurs after discontinuing a mood-altering drug that produces physical dependency. This article will review the changes that occur when one becomes physically dependent on a mood-altering drug and the process to follow in order to maximize the chances of success in maintaining abstinence when drug use has been discontinued.     

EMBRYO ADOPTION

With the rise of in vitro fertilization, society wrestles with a new dilemma—what is the destiny of all unused embryos? Although some suggest using the embryos for scientific research, others advocate giving them up for adoption. This article therefore explores the moral and legal issues surrounding embryo adoption, its advantages and disadvantages, and its impact on families. In comparing embryo adoption to traditional adoption, this article concludes that embryo adoption is an effective alternative.     

TENNESSEE'S ADOPTION LAW

Tennessee has recently enacted legislation increasing access to adoption records, allowing adult adoptees to obtain their birth certificates and other information contained only in their adoption records. After that controversial statute became law, it was challenged in Doe v. Sundquist . After 3 years of litigation, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that the statute was constitutional. The authors discuss the history of Tennessee's adoption law, demonstrating how certain events led to the passing of the controversial statute. They also discuss the adoption triad, including the birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees, noting the interests of each party. Following that is a discussion of the Tennessee statute and how it operates. The commentary continues with a detailed look at Doe v. Sundquist , including the procedural and substantive issues in both federal and state court. The authors conclude that the Tennessee law is a practical and reasonable solution to the controversy over sealed adoption records.     

THE CASE FOR ADOPTION ALTERNATIVES

In this article, the author takes a unique approach to adoption, criticizing the law's heavy emphasis on adoption while not promoting other permanency alternatives. The author advocates the use and promulgation of subsidized guardianship and cooperative adoption as positive alternatives to traditional adoption. First, the author considers the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). Discussions of therapeutic jurisprudence and preventive law follow. Then, she talks about family systems theory and cultural competence, leading to discussion of her two favorite alternatives. After examining these theories and approaches, she concludes that these options do a better job of maintaining family relations and correspond more closely with psychological theory.     

OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS OF PRIVACY

From the culture conflict theory of crime, it is possible to derive several hypotheses. This article tests the effect of recency of immigration, cultural homogeneity, and percent nondominant ethnic group upon delinquency levels in Israeli communities. When the size of the population and the juveniles population are controlled, none of these variables has a significant effect. Analysis of variance reveals significant urbanization effects, particularly on property delinuency rates. The results are discussed and a minimal "critical mass" of juveniles is suggested as a necessary condition for the emergence of delinquency .     

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS: INSTITUTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS TO FACILITATE AWARENESS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ISSUES

In 1995, China first claimed the designation as the number one location for parents from the United States seeking to adopt children. The children, for the most part girls, are between 6 and 20 months old, when they are adopted. Most of the girls that were adopted in 1995 are now entering into their preteen years, and if they have not already confronted the issue of who they are, they will soon be forced to. Adoption is a complicated and emotional process that affects the entire family. Traditionally, parents who adopt have been able to consciously choose when and how they will first tell their child that they are adopted. However, when the adopted child is a member of a transracial family, where the parents and adoptive child are obviously of a different race, this decision can sometimes be taken out of their hands by a stranger thoughtlessly asking, “Is she yours?” The parents who choose to adopt from a foreign country should be prepared to answer this question and numerous others before they bring their adopted child home. This note will explore the concept of incorporating educational programs into the intercountry adoption process as an effective method of educating prospective parents on the challenges that transracial families will confront.     

THE TRUANCY INTERVENTION PROGRAM OF THE RAMSEY COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SCHOOL SUCCESS

Chronic truancy has far‐reaching effects, both for the youth who become disconnected from school and for society. Crime, unemployment, underemployment, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and risky sexual activity have all been linked to chronic truancy. In 1995, the Minnesota Legislature authorized the creation of diversion programs specifically for truants. That same year, in response to the growing truancy problem, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner directed her staff to create a program for early intervention in truancy cases. From its beginning, the goals of the Truancy Intervention Program (TIP) have been to reduce the rate of truancy, to increase school connectedness, and to improve high school graduation rates. The program has accomplished these goals and, along the way, forged strong bonds of cooperation with schools, law enforcement agencies, and service providers. Ten years after the creation of TIP, the graduation rates in the city of St. Paul, the largest school district in the county, have improved by over 50 percent; the number of students missing 15 days of school of more (excused as well as unexcused) has decreased by more than 50 percent; and a large majority of chronic truants and their families have been successfully connected to services to address underlying problems.     

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF BARGAINING FOR ADOPTION ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS

Families that adopt children who are in foster care may receive monthly adoption assistance payments to offset the cost of raising the adopted child. The amount of the adoption assistance payment is the subject of bargaining between the family and the child welfare authority. This article uses a bargaining model to highlight factors that, in addition to the expected costs of raising the child, might influence the outcome of bargaining over adoption assistance payments. Findings indicate that married parents who adopt children already in their care have an advantage in bargaining, and single women who adopt their kin or foster children have a disadvantage in bargaining.