THE COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES OF INCARCERATION REVISITED: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS ON CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS*

While policy makers have long extolled the benefits of incarceration, criminologists have expended considerable effort demonstrating the harmful collateral consequences of incarceration. Sampson (2011) recently challenged researchers to move beyond this dichotomy and to assess the “social ledger” of incarceration, where both the potential benefits and harms associated with incarceration are examined. To shed light on the variation in the collateral consequences of incarceration, we focus on the experiences of a valuable group of individuals directly impacted by imprisonment: those caring for children of incarcerated parents. Drawing from in‐depth interviews with a diverse group of caregivers (N= 100), we examine the various consequences (both positive and negative) that occur in their lives as a result of incarceration, as well as the causal processes responsible for the outcomes we observe. Our findings reveal marked variation in the effects of incarceration on caregivers. Such effects are shaped by (1) the prisoner's prior parental involvement, (2) the interpersonal relationship between caregiver and prisoner, and (3) the caregiver's family support system. These findings have important implications for future work conducted on the collateral consequences of incarceration for caregivers, children, and families.     

Threats to Perceptions of Fairness in the Termination of Parental Rights

Termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings are among the most important family court activities. This study contributes to knowledge of the TPR process by illustrating practices employed in TPR proceedings and considering ways that certain practices can hinder perceptions of fairness. TPR court records from one state were analyzed using inductive coding procedures. The analysis identified nine categories of threats to perceptions of fairness in the TPR process. Findings have implications for procedural justice and the legitimacy of child welfare practice.     

美国联邦环境法的公民诉讼制度

公民诉讼制度作为自力救济措施是美国环境保护法律制度中的特色之一。该制度赋予公民借助法院的权力 ,监督行政机关执行环境保护法律以达到加强执法或消除污染、改善环境的目的。研究该制度对我国加强环境保护法律的执行、提高公众的环境保护意识具有一定的作用。     

LESSENING THE STING OF ASFA: THE REHABILITATION‐RELAPSE DILEMMA BROUGHT ABOUT BY DRUG ADDICTION AND TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

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.     

制定法对财产权的影响

随着社会形态由早期自足型静态经济进入消费阶段,实物生产总体呈现出供大于求的状态,由于私人合意和 公法作用的加大,各种“新财产”层出不穷,由此使我们必须考虑把财产概念纳入制度性事实的范畴,重新思考其上的财 产体和财产权两重含义,特别是后者,以顺应其发展规律,通过制定法对此权能因子做出适当的调整。     

破解“合同僵局”的新路径:限制权利滥用与合理信赖保护的统一

“合同僵局”的内涵及定位等基本问题模糊不清,导致法律适用中当事人合法利益难以得到有效保护,需要澄清。“合同僵局”本质是债权人双重主体身份的对立,此时债权人既是不行使单方解除权权利滥用的主体,又是合理信赖落空处于不利境地的主体。据此,建议从“合同僵局”本质来构建可行的合同拘束力逃逸机制:一方面应类型化交易中的权利滥用行为,依据伪“合同僵局”、双方型“合同僵局”以及涉他型“合同僵局”三种类型,明晰《民法典》第580条第2款司法解除的行使条件,避免法院与仲裁机构裁量的恣意;另一方面应限缩《民法典》第580条第2款的适用范围,赋予债权人充分赔偿并引入再交涉义务,系统性维护当事人的合理信赖。     

BURDEN OF PROOF BEGONE

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.     

BURDEN OF PROOF BEGONE

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 consequnces 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.     

非常态亲子关系中子女利益保护探究

非常态亲子关系是父母子女关系的重要组成部分。是子女利益最难以保护的状态 ,非常态亲子关系中的子女利益的保护具有现实意义和世界意义。但在我国的立法和司法上还存在很多问题 ,在研究领域也缺乏重视。找出立法和司法中存在的问题及其原因 ,提出相应的对策     

律令法体系向律例法体系的转换

律令法体系对于分析中国古代法制史是一个重要概念,如果与律例法体系的概念相互配合将会对研究工作更加有利。战国秦汉至隋唐时期的法体系以律与令为主体,是为律令法体系。明清时期例与律成为法体系的主体,可以名之为律例法体系。律例法体系取代律令法体系是中国古代法制的重要发展。两者的转换使得法律史上长期积累起来的一些矛盾得到了解决。     

TRADE‐OFFS IN FORMULATING A CONSISTENT NATIONAL POLICY ON ADOPTION*

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.     

Keeping Families Together: The Importance of Maintaining Mother–Child Contact for Incarcerated Women

Increases in the population of incarcerated women in the United States have resulted in the separation of growing numbers of mothers and children. The negative effects of dividing families have been noted for both the mothers and the children. The current research examines efforts at keeping imprisoned mothers and children connected through a visitation program. Through one-on-one interviews, the women prisoners share their perspectives about how their children are coping with the separation, their concerns for their children, their views of their roles as mothers, and their needs for after release. The women interviewed include participants in a specialized mother– child visitation program and a comparison group of mothers not in the program. The author suggests that keeping mothers and children connected may produce positive behavioral and emotional outcomes for both the mothers and their children that may reduce correctional costs and increase community safety.