...Child Custody Child custody is the care control and maintenance of a child which may be awarded by the court to one of the parents of the child (Jasper 2). Child custody issues affect our families in the United States every day. In family law, child custody is viewed as primary care of a minor (Goldstein 174). Child custody trends view one parent better than the opposing parent. Child custody is significant because of the trauma it can cause to families. Not only are parents and children affected by this but social problems bloom in later years with divorced families who go through typical child custody battles (Kalter 34). In fact, minors are affected the most when they have to choose between both parents. Child custody trends involve an agreement between two parents or guardians as to when the non-custodial parent gets to see the minor in these cases. Child custody is one of the most difficult and painful tasks a judge is asked to undertake. Many times parents’ fight over which parent the child can live with. This overall can determine who gets awarded custody of the minor. Often the courts have viewed the mother as the parent who is more capable of caring for the child. Fathers most of the time go unheard, and settle with custody agreements that overall hurt the child and father relationship because the visits with father have been shortened in length. The implications of fathers not having custody of their children go far beyond just having limited access. Not having...
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...Department of Justice Ministère de la Justice Canada Canada WORKING DOCUMENT THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN A Selected Literature Review Research and Statistics Division October 1997 WD1998-2e UNEDITED Research and Statistics Division/ Division de la recherche et de la statistique Policy Sector/ Secteur des politiques WORKING DOCUMENT THE EFFECTS OF DIVORCE ON CHILDREN A Selected Literature Review Research and Statistics Division October 1997 WD1998-2e UNEDITED The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice Canada. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 2.0 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH .............................................................. 3 3.0 FACTORS AFFECTING CHILDREN’S POSTDIVORCE ADJUSTMENT ................. 6 3.1 Child Characteristics............................................................................ 6 3.1.1 Gender ................................................................................. 6 3.1.2 Age at Divorce ....................................................................... 8 3.2 Family Characteristics.......................................................................... 9 3.2.1 Socio-economic Status .............................................................. 9 3.2.2 Ethno-cultural Background...................................................
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...Custody of Minor Children after Divorce in the State of Vermont Abstract Conflict may seem never ending when two people decide they can no longer live together and want to separate. Children can often be the last ones thought about when a couple is going through a divorce, however, they play a key role in the issues surrounding the divorce and what will happen to them as part of this procedure. The court is ultimately responsible for making sure the children’s best interest is reflected when deciding what happens to them after a divorce. Parents play a key role in this decision making, though if conflict between the parents causes them to fight and not be able to come to an affable arrangement, then the courts must decide for them. This paper explains what the court expects from parents, surrounding divorce and custody issues, how they can best resolve those conflicts, and why it is best to solve those issues in the interest of the children. Keywords: Custody, physical custody, legal custody, temporary custody, joint custody, alternative dispute resolution, child custody mediation, collaborative law, parenting plan, child support, child custody evaluation, visitation, parental rights and responsibilities, temporary order, final order. Custody of Minor Children after Divorce in the State of Vermont When parents decide they no longer want to live together, they separate and if married, usually divorce. There can be many reasons for this, however, they all stem from...
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...its own child placement agency. KRNCS works with many diverse children and families, who all have different and special needs. Working with children from ages 0-18 years of age and sometimes young adults up to the age of 21 should there be special circumstances. KRNCS works to reunify children in a safe and stable family environment. Should a child be unable to return to their biological family, KRNCS helps to locate and finalize a permanent placement. In addition to foster/adoptive success, the site also provides a wide variety of community services such as: CFI/mediation, therapy (individual, family, couples), home studies, contractual adoptive services inner and out of state, family preservation, supervised parenting time, classes such as CPR, first aid, and parenting classes, parent child interactional, and life skills. Rashida Gordon is a case worker for the Kids Resource Network of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Rashida is a therapist, who uses client centered therapy as her approach. She believes in order to assist in behavioral changes; one must have emphasis in that one person to focus. KRNCS main population is foster kids ages 0-18 years of age and biological parents of all ages Majority of KRNCS clients are Caucasian females with barely a high school education, income below poverty or on welfare and alcohol or drug dependency. Usually there are not very men if any since most of the males abandon their children or do not comply with court orders. The biological parents...
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...economic situations. Many of these households may contain three generations, with the most raid growth occurring in households containing grandchildren and grandparents only (Bryson and Casper, 1999). In filling these roles there are numerous health, legal, financial, education, and emotional barriers that make this a very difficult task for grandparents. If they are not successful the alternative for most of these children is definitely foster or inadequate care. The role of grandparents in raising grandchildren is not likely to reverse soon. Others factors that are becoming more prevalent is the number of single parents and with diminishing social welfare system parents need more help from their immediate family members and grandparents are the first to be called ( Ferraro, Wilmoth, 2007). Introduction Grandparents raising their grandchildren are an area of focus in the public eye. Since 1980, the rate of grandparents raising their grandchildren has grown dramatically. In 1980, 2.3 million (4%) of children lived in a grandparent’s home. By 1996, the number had...
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...Stopping Parental Alienation Syndrome Divorce and Child Custody is a battle or war, and it can be an extremely emotional time for everyone involved, especially children. With the way that the Judicial system has made divorce, it has become a battle, and parents feel that there are a winner and loser during these trials. These parents will stop at nothing to be on the winning side of the case, and this causes them to use the children as pawns to get an advantage over the other party involved. Claiming that the other parent is physically abusive or a drug/alcohol abuser to gain control of the child until it goes in front of the judge, is one of many dirty tricks that can be played to alienate the other parent. As Attorney Kendra R. Jolivet (2012) stated "parental alienation is the creation of one relationship between a child and one parent, to the exclusion of the other parent" (p 178). She later explains that there are three main reasons for alienating the other parent: "to meet personal emotional needs, as a vehicle to express his or her intense emotions, or as a pawn to inflict harm on the other parent" (Jolivet 2012). With the many reasons for the divorce or custody dispute, it is highly imperative for the parents to get along for the sole purpose of what is best for the children. “There are three categories of parental alienation, mild, moderate, and severe” (Jolivet 2012). Mild alienation is where the alienating parent fails to encourage visitation and communication...
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...society of the significant challenges single mom face. Raising children in this era is a very difficult task for couples and it brings greater challenges when is done by a single parent. This paper explores the emotional, psychological and financial aspect of raising children as a single mom as well as the main reasons why. It will review the causes and consequences in which it affects children, parents and entire families. There is data that has been collected where it indicates the reasons why there has been an increase and the impact that it has on children and adolescents. There are ways single moms overcome challenges. II. Introduction to Challenges Single Mom Face According to DeBell( 2008), about half of American children will spend part of their childhood in a single- parent family. DeBell stated that the absence of a father in a child’s home, the most consequential trend of our time, leads to social disaster(Pg. 427). Goldenberg (2008), states that a dysfunctional family, by definition, has failed to fulfill its purpose of nurturing the growth of its members. Single-parent families are more common in today’s society and are usually referred to as a broken home or dysfunctional families. Single-parent families have doubled since 1970 and are rapidly increasing. According the U.S. Census Bureau, around 30% of American families are headed by only one parent. There are 22 million children that live with a single parent—83% of those parents are moms...
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...Research at the New York University School of Social Work, determined that over 28 per cent of the children in state care had been abused while in the system. Reviewed cases depicted "a pattern of physical, sexual and emotional abuses" inflicted upon children in the custody of the Baltimore Department. Cases reviewed as the trial progressed revealed children who had suffered continuous sexual and physical abuse or neglect in foster homes known to be inadequate by the Department. Cases included that of sexual abuse of young girls by their foster fathers, and that of a young girl who contracted gonorrhea of the throat as a result of sexual abuse in an unlicenced foster home.[1] In Louisiana, a study conducted in conjunction with a civil suit found that 21 percent of abuse or neglect cases involved foster homes.[2] In another Louisiana case, one in which thousands of pages of evidence were reviewed, and extensive testimony and depositions were taken, it was discovered that hundreds of foster children had been shipped out of the state to Texas. Stephen Berzon of the Children's Defense Fund explained the shocking findings of the court before a Congressional subcommitte, saying: "children were physically abused, handcuffed, beaten, chained, and tied up, kept in cages, and overdrugged with psychotropic medication for institutional convenience."[3] In Missouri, a 1981 study found that 57 percent of the sample children were placed in foster care settings that put them "at the very least...
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...juncture in your marital relationship at which you desire to dissolve the union with your spouse, you are likely to find yourself contemplating your options. Divorce certainly is an option available to you. In some states, you can obtain a legal separation. In all U.S. jurisdictions, annulment laws exist, as well. If you end up focusing on a divorce or an annulment, you need to weigh and balance the pros and cons of both proceedings. Function The primary function of a divorce is to terminate a valid marriage, according to "Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce" by Emily Doskow. The basic function of an annulment is to obtain a declaration that no valid marriage existed in the first place. Judges in both cases issue other orders to deal with issues like property division and custody of children. Benefits The benefits of both types of proceedings include leaving the parties free to remarry. Divorce and annulment also structure the legal relationship between the parties at the conclusion of the actual judicial proceedings, according to the American Bar Association Section of Family Law. Disadvantages A disadvantage of divorce is that obtaining this type of legal remedy may violate the tenants of your religion. Some religions significantly restrict an adherent's ability to continue involvement in formal activities. A disadvantage of annulment in many jurisdictions is that you cannot make a claim for alimony or spousal maintenance. The theory in these locations is that if there was no valid...
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...America. New York, NY: New York University Press. Chapter 8: “Asking for It”: Battered women and Child Custody 1. Jessica Gonzales obtained a restraining order against her estranged husband from herself and her three young children. a. The restraining ordered was not enforced and led to the killing of her three children b. Gonzalez sued the town of castle rock i. The supreme court ruled that police are exempt from legal action, even if the result of their refusal to enforce a restraining order resulted in death 2. Child Abductions are not uncommon. c. Most children are abducted by family members, typically the biological father. d. In most cases, the child is taken for about a week of more. ii. Generally, the abductor is trying to prevent contact between the child and the mother and also trying to change the current custody arrangement 3. Intimate partner violence is big problem e. It accounts for 1/5th of all nonfatal violence act and 1/3rd of homicides when looking at females age 12 and older f. Most rapes and physical assaults against women are committed by current or former spouses, a date or live-in partners 4. Thaw two relevant types of intimate violence in the text are intimate terrorism and violent resistance g. Intimate terrorism is a form of violence that escalates over time and becomes more severe and likely to cause injury as the man feels more of a need to have power and control...
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...2013). New Jersey has passed progressive laws and policies that prohibit discrimination charged against LGBT individuals in the adoption process (Lifelong Adoptions, 2013). New Jersey state law also bans discrimination against LGBT individuals in the foster parent process (Lifelong Adoptions, 2013). New Jersey Statutes Annotated 9:3-43 enables for any person to adopt permitted the said person(s) pass a background investigation and meet adoption criteria for eligibility (Onelce, 2012). Unmarried joint adoptive parents petitioning to adopt a child can do so because of N.J.S.A. 9:3-43 (Onelce, 2012). In “Re-adoption of Two Children” by H.N.R., 666 A.2d 535 (Onelce, 2012) addresses second parent adoption; this statute exercises the possibility for an individual to petition for shared rights of custody with a parent who already possesses legal parental custody of a child. Several states prohibit joint adoption due to unmarried status. This statute is favorable for unmarried parents seeking to adopt in New Jersey. This New Jersey statute provides for an overall tolerant atmosphere for LGBT individuals and couples looking to adopt or become foster parents. In summary, laws and policies regarding same-sex adoption vary from state to state. Forms of Adoption The three common forms of adoptive guardianship are individual (single) parent adoption, joint adoption, and second parent adoption (Adoption, foster care agencies and state law, n.d.). The most traditional type of adoptive parents...
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...key to their home and is expected to be home with minimal supervision. Once a child reaches a certain responsible age, being a latch-key kid often makes sense. Charlie must get home safe from school, stay out of trouble, and complete his homework, with little to no adult supervision. After-school activities should be available to Charlie because he may not be responsible enough or his parents may not trust him to be home alone yet. Everyone is affected by the consequences of parental divorce, especially the children involved. In any society, the children are the future. In the United States alone, 40 to 50% of first marriages end in divorce, according to the American Psychological Association. As citizens of the United States, we are all stakeholders of our future and should care about the well-being of all our children, especially those of disadvantaged environments such as parental divorce. Additional resources should be made available to both parents and children to lessen the impact of parental divorce because it will help to reduce the effects of worry, aloneness, negative views of self, and depression, while improving math test scores and mental competencies, and also reducing the internalization of behavioral problems. Scientific American authors Scott O. Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz...
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... Childhood Obesity Introduction Over the recent decades, obesity has grown into major health problem in the United States. Obesity rates have increased over the past thirty years. With over 31 percent of the population obese, the United States has become the fattest country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity is not only an adult problem, it has now become an epidemic among children and teenagers. One out of every three children in the United States is obese. Eating habits that children learn when they are young affects them in later in their life. Obese children are more likely to become obese adults than healthy weight children. Childhood obesity can lead to many health problems that include diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure to name a few. These health problems cause a rise in health care costs. There are factors that play a role in causing these health issues, but there are also simple solutions to solve this epidemic among the young. The Effects of Advertising and the Media One of the factors that contribute to childhood obesity is the media and their way of marketing and advertising, especially towards children. Children spend more time watching television and using a computer than previous generations. Children from the ages of eight to 18 use media every day, and spend on average 44.5 hours per week using a computer, playing video games, and watching television. "Most children under age 6 cannot distinguish between...
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...discrimination and the view of one sex greater than the other.Even in the modern world today,sexism is in the judicial system,in religious sects,workplaces and relationships.Society has stereotyped gender to what individuals view as the “norm” for a certain gender. The term sexism was established in the 1960’s feminist movement portraying particularly to women's rights but has grown to a more modern term. Sexism in the judicial system has been an underlying problem in our society that many do not wish to talk about . Many studies have proven that in the area of sexual crimes...
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...Abstract – This study reviews several empirical researchers which highlight relationship between father involvement and divorced father’s psychological well-being. According to Ryff (1989) psychological well-being is active engagement in a number of existential challenges. The father not successful in marriage or divorced was not achieved Erikson’s generativity which they were unsatisfied and not well-being. However, the positive relationship between father’s senses of competence involvement in child-related activities was stronger for divorced fathers. Research consistently shows that positive father involvement provides important benefits to children. Father involvement is negatively associated with divorced father’s psychological wellbeing...
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