BUILDING A CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION PROGRAM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Effective implementation of mediation programs on a large scale is a complex challenge. This article describes the process of design and implementation of a child protection mediation model and highlights the challenges and successes involved in leading fundamental culture shifts within the child welfare system over a period of eleven years.     

CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: THE COOK COUNTY ILLINOIS EXPERIENCE—A JUDGE'S PERSPECTIVE

The Child Protection Mediation Program in Cook County, Illinois is the result of a collaborative effort on the part of the court, its stakeholders, and the attorneys involved in child protection cases. Child protection mediation empowers families and includes parents in many decisions impacting their children. It also helps judges to move children's cases through the legal system more rapidly and in a more efficient and humane manner. This results in children achieving more timely permanency. The program is sustained in part due to frequent outreach to, and input from, the program's consumers. These help to ensure that the program is meeting the diverse needs of the court, the families, and the professionals involved in the cases.     

FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCING AND CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR PRIORITIZING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN CHILD WELFARE CASES

Family group conferencing (FGC) and child protection mediation maximize family engagement in child welfare cases by prioritizing families' roles in discussions and decisions. This article examines how FGC helps professionals to focus on family and community strengths, encourages family engagement, and provides targeted case plans for families and timely, permanent placements for children. It explores how courts and agencies use these interventions to empower families to contribute to resolutions in ways that are not possible in traditional litigation processes. These complementary processes help children and families by providing forums where families are allowed to make informed choices and take an active role in creating plans for their future.     

CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: A 25-YEAR PERSPECTIVE

This article reviews the creation, development, and growth of child protection mediation (CPM) in the United States. Starting with a few pilot projects in the 1970s, CPM has grown throughout the country. The article traces child protection's development through the publication of the Resource Guidelines and Model Courts and then discusses what the necessary ingredients for a mediation program are. Mediation is then discussed from a judicial perspective. Barriers to mediation are listed, followed by a discussion of special issues that arise when developing and maintaining CPM programs. The article concludes with the observation that CPM is now recognized as a best practice by most judges and court improvement professionals and that it continues to grow.     

A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION: LESSONS FROM 25 YEARS OF PRACTICE

What are the essential elements of a successful child protection mediation program? What outcomes are we seeking? How do we define success? How do these inform or direct program development so that it supports these outcomes? How do we know if it is working? And, how do we start out on the right foot? We are in the enviable position now, after 25 or so years, to benefit from lessons learned from the experiences of many programs. This article provides a 25‐year perspective on key elements that have contributed to the success of child protection mediation programs.     

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A CHILD PROTECTION MEDIATION PROGRAM: If At First You Succeed and Then You Don't…

This article discusses the U.A.L.R. child protection mediation program as well as several other child protection mediation programs in order to examine what makes a program a continuing success. Child protection mediation programs have gone through a period of tremendous progress and growth over the past 20 years in the United States and Canada. Numerous studies have shown that child protection mediation helps families and courts by lowering the amount of time that children spend in foster care and the amount of costs for courts and agencies. Child protection mediation is an essential tool for juvenile courts and the families that have cases there. This article addresses the development of child protection mediation programs, their importance to juvenile courts, and some reasons that these programs succeed or fail. Although many of these programs have early accomplishments, they have not always been able to maintain their growth or to continue to exist. The U.A.L.R. Mediation Project has not sustained its early levels of cases or referrals from court for numerous reasons. Using the techniques of other thriving programs, we will attempt to restart and re-energize the program. It has been established that the people who have a role in the establishment of a program, the funding sources and especially the commitment of the parties to the program all have a significant long-term impact. This article points out how programs should begin and proceed if they are to be a long-term success.     

OUT-OF-COURT STATEMENTS BY VICTIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE TO MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS: A CONFRONTATION CLAUSE ANALYSIS

Acknowledging the rapid growth of child sexual abuse in the United States, this Note advocates for the recognition of a limited exception to the blanket-hearsay ban on out-of-court statements made by unavailable declarants set out by the Supreme Court in Crawford v. Washington . In order to protect a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment confrontation right, Crawford requires that hearsay evidence that is "testimonial" in nature be deemed inadmissible if the witness is unavailable and the defendant does not have a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness against him. However, Crawford noted that, where nontestimonial hearsay is at issue, cross-examination may not be necessary. Accordingly, where a child sexual abuse victim makes statements during a structured or semi-structured forensic interview to a member of a multidisciplinary team, these statements should be deemed nontestimonial and thus admitted into evidence, without requiring cross-examination of the child. Allowing for this exception to the general hearsay ban in Crawford is not only consistent with current precedent, but it is also warranted to promote public policy and to curb the negative impact such abuse has on society.     

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.     

ON BEING A CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATOR: PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL CHALLENGES,RISKS, AND REWARDS

Conducting child custody evaluations is one of the most complex, challenging, and sometimes risky professional endeavors that a mental health professional can perform. This article examines the professional and personal challenges which may be encountered by the evaluator. In addition to discussing the role requirements and need to maintain awareness of bias and countertransference, challenges such as coping with state board or ethics complaints and possible risks to personal safety are also addressed. Suggestions for risk management and coping with the demands of these assessments are offered, as well as the benefits and rewards of engaging in this important work.     

School Shootings and Security Lock-downs: Myths,Positive School Climates,and Safer Campuses

School shooting tragedies and the juvenile justice system’s movement toward a retributive and punitive framework gravely impacted how primary and secondary school students, disproportionately urban districts, used security measures to lock down campuses and build “fortress-like” schools. This iteration of control on school campuses emerged in tandem with the most recent generation’s zero tolerance approach to student violence and problems; a policy widely regarded as ineffective in urban, suburban, and rural districts. As school shootings continue to impact state legislative action and public reactions to school management, this paper takes a critical approach to school security policies and reviews the evidence on the risk for school violence and how to move away from student control approaches that do not improve school safety. Instead, the incorporation of prosocial education and school engagement efforts finds that school and student safety is improved. These, and related approaches to student body management, decreases campus violence and may also minimize the risk of some school shootings - as rare as these tragic incidents are across the nation’s schools. The interplay of schools, students, and the juvenile and family courts is ongoing. Knowing how school districts can best approach their campus environments, safety, and learning is important for school social workers and court personnel because of how often these systems work, or do not work, together.     

IS THE TURN TOWARD COLLABORATIVE LAW A TURN AWAY FROM JUSTICE?

The new trend in Collaborative Family Law (CFL) in the United States and Canada raises new questions about theories of justice. CFL achieves many of the goals of a viable theory of justice and its implicit critique of the legal system is a valid one. However, it unnecessarily demonizes law and has yet to explicitly articulate where it fits in terms of its own theory of justice. After considering the claims made by CFL, it is apparent that while some are productive, others are problematic and should be discarded. Specifically, CFL's rejection of factual determinacy may be inappropriate in some cases. The CFL approach has the potential to ignore problems of power imbalance, and may sacrifice just outcomes for the sake of efficiency. The emphasis on relationships and the need for their protection is not always an appropriate approach, and in demonizing law in favor of private ordering, CFL unnecessarily rejects the importance of law as a site for public participation in the creation and defense of norms. CFL is an important step forward in law reform, but if it is to fulfill its potential, it needs to incorporate within its practice a theory of justice that avoids the pitfalls of liberal individualism and allows for the public authorship of norms.     

BRIEF VIEW ON THE STANDARDIZED TRAINING OF LEGAL PRACTICE SKILLS

Because of the massive expansion in enrollment, the number of graduates from law schools across the country is unprecedented, but the rate of unemployment is also unprecedented in comparison with the graduation. In stark contrast, many employees are finding it difficult to find graduates of talent fitting directly to working requirements. The traditional mode of education is to cultivate students with legal research abilities, but the main social need calls for graduates who are prepared to practice, which has caused the low employment. As a result, the graduates’ failure to meet the social demand caused serious imbalance between supply and demand. The characteristic of legal practice skills is to solve practical problems through the practice of adapting legal knowledge, but practical skill training in law school education now is basically nonexistent. The training of legal practice skills must be conducted through aspects of course design, and therefore teaching methods necessitate comprehensive reformation. The practice skills of the legal profession, such as basic literacy, basic skills, and work skills, are indispensable to the education of students. Educating them to attain these skills will aid them directly in practical work after graduation, improve their work quality and employment rate, and consequently improve the whole overall quality of the legal profession.     

THE IMPACT OF CONTINUING EDUCATION TRAINING ON LAW GUARDIAN KNOWLEDGE,EFFICACY, AND PRACTICE BEHAVIORS

There is an increased demand for law guardians in domestic violence cases, especially those involving child witnesses. Training is required for law guardians to meet child clients’ needs. While workshops and conferences are typical venues for continuing education training, their effectiveness is unknown. This pilot study compared law guardians who attended a conference on community violence and children to nonattendees on several training outcomes. Results showed a positive impact on attendees’ feelings of efficacy and intentions to carry out new practice behaviors post‐conference; differences were maintained at follow‐up. Limitations and implications of this pilot study are discussed.     

婚姻家庭法实践实训教学模式研究

为了适应社会主义市场经济和国家法治建设需要,培养理论和实践能力兼备的法律人才,在婚姻家庭法学的教学过程中可以建立＂课内＋课外＂多元性实践实训教学模式,并通过一系列的配套措施不断对该模式进行优化,提高人才培养的效果。     

Predicting law enforcement confidence in going ‘hands-on’: the impact of martial arts training,use-of-force self-efficacy,motivation, and apprehensiveness

ABSTRACT

In law enforcement, there are situations allowing officers to gain control of suspects by going ‘hands-on,’ or physically placing someone in custody beyond simple handcuffing. While much empirical attention is placed on more lethal use-of-force (UOF) measures, little is known about going hands-on. This is concerning considering when force is used, it is almost always with the use of hands, fist or feet only. The purpose of this pilot study is to examine whether martial arts training (MAT) and UOF self-efficacy predict confidence in going hands-on, after accounting for perceived motivation and apprehensiveness. It draws from an online survey, and a non-random subsample of 1,064 un-ranked patrol duty officers in the USA. Results indicate that MAT and high perceived UOF self-efficacy safely predict confidence in going hands-on, even after accounting for perceived motivation and apprehensiveness. Nonetheless, apprehensiveness, but not motivation, remains a strong predictor of not being confident in going hands-on.     

THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AND THE NEED FOR ITS INCORPORATION INTO A BILL OF RIGHTS

In this article I discuss the failure of most democratic countries to accept or properly implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, despite, except in the case of the United States, having ratified it. I consider the domestic implementation of treaties. I discuss, from an Australian perspective, that country's failure to enact a Bill of Rights and argue that children in Australia have suffered as a result. I also discuss judicial approaches to international law and compare the situation in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand and suggest that even in those countries that do have a Bill of Rights, it is not oriented toward children and therefore does not properly recognize their rights.     

FEDERAL SENTENCING AS A COMPLEX COLLABORATIVE PROCESS: JUDGES,PROSECUTORS, JUDGE–PROSECUTOR DYADS,AND DISPARITY IN SENTENCING

Investigations of how criminal justice actors contribute to variation in sentencing typically focus on the role played by the judge. We argue that sentencing should be viewed as a collaborative process involving actors other than the judge and that the role of the prosecutor is particularly salient. We also contend that the courtroom workgroup literature has suggested that sentences may vary depending on the particular judge and prosecutor to whom the case is assigned. By using a unique data set from three U.S. district courts (N = 2,686) that identifies both the judge and the prosecutor handling the case, we examine how the judge, the prosecutor, and the judge–prosecutor dyad contribute to variance in offender sentences. We do this by employing cross‐classified random‐effects models to estimate the variance components associated with judges, prosecutors, and judge–prosecutor interactions. The results indicate that disparity attributable to the prosecutor is larger than disparity from the judge. Moreover, the role that the judge plays is moderated by the prosecutor to whom the case is assigned, as the judge–prosecutor effect is consistently larger than other random effects across the models. We also find that results vary by judicial district.     

RELYING ON THE UNRELIABLE: HOW A COURT RULE COULD ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEMS INHERENT IN THE NEUTRAL MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION PROCESS IN CHILD CUSTODY CASES

Many states lack standards as to who should be conducting neutral mental health evaluations in child custody proceedings and what these evaluations should be comprised of. This will occasionally result in an unqualified evaluator giving a recommendation to the court as to which parent should receive custody of their child[ren]. This Note advocates for courts to adopt a court rule which specifically enumerates the qualifications of neutral mental health evaluators in the hopes of regularizing the evaluation process. The first part of the proposal addresses who should conduct evaluations by establishing the required credentials of the evaluator and minimizing the amount of evaluator bias by screening the process. The second part of the proposal focuses on the training needed before an evaluator may conduct an examination, as well as the amount of experience required.     

A Memorial for jeremy bentham: memory,fiction, and writing the law

At a moment when the European Union and globalisation are, in their different contexts, bringing systems of traditional law (like the Common Law), whose texts are presented as monuments to historical legal cultures, into confrontation with systems of written law which claim to be rational embodiments of universal principles of liberal justice, how might we remember Jeremy Bentham, the pioneer of the critique of the former in the name of the latter? This essay in ‘law-and-literature’ looks at the relation between memory, fiction and writing in both the Common Law and in the two last projects for which the radical legal positivist sought to be remembered: the Constitutional Code for the Use of All Nations and All Governments Professing Liberal Opinions (1830) and Auto-Icon: Or, Farther Uses of the Dead to the Living (published posthumously in 1842). By examining Bentham’s linguistic theory and practice, the article raises questions about the relations between the ‘law’ of writing and the writing of law.