Respite Care for Foster Parents Should Not Mean Inferior Care for Foster Children
Caring for a foster child, especially in a therapeutic setting, is a full-time undertaking. Because it can have severe emotional repercussions on the family, respite care by another trained foster parent or other professional is frequently made available.Respite care is an intervention that may reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to the foster child (Goldman, Salus, Wolcott, & Kennedy, 2003) while it simultaneously offers welcome benefits to the caregiver (MacDonald & Callery, 2004). Indeed, one study (Chan & Sigafoos, 2001) found that the more frequently families made ...
DOJ Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Presents Final Recommendations
The Attorney General's Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence has released its final recommendations for a national response to address children’s exposure to violence. The report emphasizes prevention and intervention and underscores the importance of trauma-informed care and victim-tailored services.
The task force calls on the federal government, states, tribes, and communities to ensure that all children exposed to violence are identified, screened, and assessed; to create multidisciplinary councils to facilitate systemwide collaboration; to involve men and ...
Restitution for Child Victims Returns to the Supreme Court
Last week, the Marsh Law Firm, along with co-counsel Paul G. Cassell and Carol L. Hepburn, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
Almost 20 years ago, Congress enacted the Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2259, to benefit victims of federal child pornography
crimes, including petitioners like Amy and Vicky, whose child sex abuse images are traded and collected over the internet by countless individuals worldwide.
The statute provides in part that a court “shall order restitution...
United States Sentencing Commission Appoints James R. Marsh to the Victims Advisory Group
Earlier today, the United States Sentencing Commission appointed James R. Marsh as a member of the Victims Advisory Group (VAG) to a term ending December 1, 2015.
The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch of government. Its principal purposes are to:
establish sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts, including guidelines to be consulted regarding the appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of federal crimes;
advise and assist Congress and the executive branch in the development of ...
Preparing Children to Testify in Court
Court preparation is beneficial for the children required to testify in a courtroom. The purpose of a child-witness court preparation program is to assist the child witness in her or his ability to testify truthfully and effectively in a courtroom. This is important because children are required to testify about serious allegations that hold potentially significant outcomes for them or those accused. Having an unprepared child take the witness stand and offer poor testimony is not only regrettable, but preventable.
The National Child Protection Training Center has ...
Sexting Associated With Sexual Risk Among Adolescents
From the Journal Pediatrics:
OBJECTIVES: Sexting may be associated with sexual health consequences among adolescents. However, to date, no published data from a probability-based sample has examined associations between sexting and sexual activity.
METHODS: A probability sample of 1839 students was collected alongside the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Los Angeles high schools. Logistic regressions were used to assess the correlates of sexting behavior and associations between sexting and sexual risk-taking.
RESULTS: Fifteen percent of adolescents with cell phone ...
Be Careful when “Making Healthy Choices”
Attorneys who represent youths, parents, and foster parents have reason to be concerned about a pamphlet recently published by the federal government’s Children’s Bureau. The pamphlet, “Making Healthy Choices,” is intended to advise youth in foster care about psychotropic medications and is being distributed nationwide in English and Spanish.
Unfortunately, the pamphlet encourages youths to fill out a checklist/questionnaire of crimes they may have committed and to list deficits in their personalities and character. The youths are encouraged to ...