ASSESSING SUBSTANCE ABUSE QUESTIONS IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

Substance use is rampant in contemporary society, but little attention has been paid to it in the context of child custody evaluations (CCEs). This article provides concrete suggestions for integrating issues about substance abuse into a more overarching CCE and discusses specific assessment strategies.     

MEDIATIVE STRATEGIES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATTERS

This article presents the theoretical importance and practical applications of mediative strategies in family conflicts where sexual abuse allegations are involved. Traditional approaches often further the breakdown of the family and harm the children. The linear nature of the legal system in which these conflicts are played out, the strong moral and cultural influences in issues concerning sexuality, and the approach of the professionals involved are factors considered. When multiple professionals intrude simultaneously on a family, there is severe disruption of the boundaries and internal hierarchy of the system. The process of mediation allows for effective conflict management because it is premised on systemic problem solving. The article catalogues specific mediative skills, strategies, and techniques that can be applied. It also encourages the use and incorporation of mediation in court systems to more effectively manage family conflicts such as divorce and juvenile matters, where sexual abuse is often alleged.     

CHILD CUSTODY MEDIATION AND SPOUSE ABUSE

This article discusses domestic violence, providing information and a review of literature regarding this phenomena. The article then goes on to describe a protocol developed by the Orange County (California) mediation and investigative unit that provides protection to the alleged victim of violence through the use of assessment interviews, co-mediation with a male-female mediation team, and the development of postparenting arrangements that provide for protection and security. The article also reviews a sample of 100 domestic violence cases handled in Orange County during 1991. Data from this research suggest that mediators using the protocols described in this article are able to guide the more serious, high-risk cases into more protective outcomes and that mediation can provide a very important adjunct to the trial court process.     

MEASURING PROGRESS IN IMPROVING COURT PROCESSING OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES

With all of the changes in federal law relating to child maltreatment, foster care, and adoption, courts have become active partners with child welfare agencies in assuring safety and permanency for children. Outcome measures are needed to track achievement of the distinct goals of courts and those goals they share with child welfare agencies. This article presents a set of measures that focuses on the court contribution to desirable outcomes for children and families. These measures have undergone extensive development, review, and field testing by representatives from several national organizations interested in court reform and child welfare, but they still require more discussion and refinement. Indeed, outcome measures are an essential component of a process of continuing improvement, which means they need to be reviewed periodically to ensure they are valid, reliable, and not redundant.     

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.     

FATHERS AND CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF PARENTAL SEPARATION AND DIVORCE

Fathers' role in child abuse in the context of parental separation and divorce has been the subject of continuous stereotyping over the last several decades. This article examines the stereotypes projected against current research, particularly findings from a study of an experimental family court program designed for the better management of residence and contact disputes where child abuse allegations had been made. These findings are discussed in regard to similar studies internationally. While the two prevailing but opposing stereotypes of fathers' role in child abuse in this context were not confirmed by the research, aspects of the stereotypes regarding fathers' views and mothers' views of each other were supported. Problems associated with the paradoxical position of fathers as the most frequently alleged perpetrators of abuse, the most frequently substantiated perpetrators, and also the most frequently unsubstantiated perpetrators tend not to be fully addressed by the current court process for these disputes.     

ASSESSING AND MANAGING ALLEGATIONS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

This article examines the procedures involved in the assessment and management of allegations of child sexual abuse in courts exercising custody and access jurisdictions. The author discusses the various options available to the court when confronted with such allegations, noting that, in the contex: of access disputes, the issue for the court is not whether a parent has sexually abused a child but whether, in all the circumstances of the case, access should take place or custody should change. In all matters involving access between parents and children, the overriding principle is the paramountcy of the welfare of the child. It is also argued that supervised access, although an increasingly popular alternative for the court when faced with allegations of abuse, is problematic and may not be in the best interests of the child. The author suggests that the emphasis must be on children's rights find parental responsibilities.     

受虐待儿童眼底病理变化研究进展

受虐待儿童眼底病理变化研究进展刘鑫，胡红（北京市高级人民法院；北京１０００３９）ＤＥＶＥＬＯＰＭＥＮＴＯＦＲＥＳＥＡＲＣＨＯＮＦＵＮＤＵＳＰＡＴＨＯＬＯＧＩＣＣＨＡＮＧＥＳＩＮＣＨＩＬＤＡＢＵＳＥ（ＲＥＶＩＥＷ）￥ＬｉｕＸｉｎ；ＨｕＨｏｎｇ（Ｄｐｅａ...     

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN CUSTODY AND ACCESS DISPUTES IN THE FAMILY COURT

Child abuse allegations in custody and access disputes are serious matters and present family courts worldwide with major problems. This article reports a large research study just completed that investigated the way the Family Court of Australia managed child abuse cases. The study showed that such cases had become a substantial part of the court's current workload, their "core business" in fact. The families involved had many difficulties, including a history of family violence, and the present system was not appropriate for their particular problems. Thus, as new specialized court lead model of intervention was devised, based on principles relevant to family violence and incorporating the most effective strategies identified in the research.     

CHILD ABUSE,NEGLECT, AND VIOLENT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR*

Using a prospective cohorts design, official criminal histories for a large sample of substantiated and validated cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect from the years 1967 through 1971 (n = 908) were compared with those of a matched control group (n = 667) of individuals with no official record of abuse or neglect. Abused and neglected subjects had higher rates of having an adult criminal record than controls and a larger number of arrests as an adult. Based on a logit analysis, a model using four explanatory variables (age, sex, race, and abuse/neglect status) provided a good fit. In comparison with controls, abused and neglected subjects also had a higher frequency of arrests for violent offenses as adults; however, this was due primarily to significantly more adult violent offenses by abused males. Support for the cycle of violence is discussed as well as sex differences in the results, limitations of the findings, and implications for further research.     

STATE CHILD EMOTIONAL ABUSE LAWS: THEIR FAILURE TO PROTECT CHILDREN WITH GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER

Emotional abuse of children with Gender Identity Disorder by parents is very difficult to identify and prevent. State investigators of abuse and neglect often have a hard time determining if the reasons for mental illness and psychological harm in children are due to the actions of their parents, or if they stem from other sources. Once identified, it becomes even harder to prove in court for purposes of ordering services or removing the child from the home if the abuse is severe enough. With children who are gender non‐conforming, this task becomes exponentially more difficult due to the low prevalence rate, discrimination, stereotypes, and a parent's right to bring up their child as they choose. These youth face discrimination and violence in school, work, their communities, and also within their own families. Emotional abuse statutes are too vague to protect youth who are gender non‐conforming. The vague and unclear laws lead to inconsistency in the application of the law and lack of protection of the children because judges and investigators are not aware of how parent's actions harms youth with gender identity disorder. Therefore, states should adopt the model statute within this Note which defines specific actions by parents which would not qualify as abuse when involving gender conforming youth but qualifies as abuse for children with gender identity disorder. Many states already have statutes which define physical abuse, sexual abuse and abandonment by specific actions by parents towards their children. This proposal will enable both the state and the judges to properly identify victims with gender identity disorder of emotional abuse and provide for their protection.     

CONTEXTUAL DISPARITIES IN GUIDELINES DEPARTURES: COURTROOM SOCIAL CONTEXTS,GUIDELINES COMPLIANCE,AND EXTRALEGAL DISPARITIES IN CRIMINAL SENTENCING1

This study examines the theoretical and empirical linkages between criminal court social contexts and the judicial use of sentences that deviate from the recommendations of sentencing guidelines. Individual sentencing data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (PCS) are combined with county‐level measures of social context to examine predictions about the role courtroom characteristics play in judicial departures. Results from hierarchical analyses suggest that the likelihood of departure varies significantly across courts, even after accounting for variations in individual case characteristics. Several measures of courtroom social context—including the size of the court, its caseload pressure and the overall guidelines compliance rate—are significantly related to the individual likelihood of receiving a departure sentence. Moreover, the social context of the court also conditions the influence of various individual‐level sentencing considerations. Findings are discussed in relation to contemporary theoretical perspectives on courtroom decision making and future directions for research on contextual disparities in criminal sentencing are suggested.