The Standard of Care in Medical Malpractice Cases When you have been hurt because of the wrongful acts of another person, the typical basis for recovery is a lawsuit alleging negligence. To succeed with a negligence action, you have to show that: There was a commonly accepted standard of care, which the defendant failed to […]

Supreme Court Decision Regarding Same Sex Marriage The recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States establishing that same sex couples have a constitutionally protected right to marry has a direct and beneficial effect on children. Specifically, the decision recognizes the dignity of all families and provides for the protection of children who […]

How to Work Most Effectively with Prospective Birthparents When you adopt a child from a foreign country, in addition to the legal issues specifically related to making the child a member of your family, you may also be required to “re-adopt” the child once you return to the United States. Whether or not you must […]

Protect Your Legal Rights after a Car Accident When you have been injured a motor vehicle accident caused by the carelessness or negligence of another person, you want to take all the right steps to maximize your chances of getting full and fair compensation for all your losses. Here’s what we recommend: Get the Medical […]

Foster Children Struggle to Find Academic Opportunity In a recent study, researchers found more than 4,000 college age youth who were either still in foster c are or had recently left the state’s foster care system. The study also found that less than one in four of those young adults were taking any college classes. […]

Washington States Uses Service and Deferral Programs to Address Disparities in Juvenile Justice System Citing statistics that show that, even as national and local crime rates go down, minority youth continue to be disproportionately subject to detention, arrest and prosecution, the Washington Supreme Court, along with the Washington Bar Association, has commissioned a study of […]

Being a Foster Parent According to most recent data, there are currently more than 500,000 children in the United States who are somewhere in the foster care system. The unfortunate reality is that there simply are not enough families for all of them. While some find success and happiness in foster homes, the majority spend […]

The Children’s Aid Society’s Food Justice Program The Children’s Aid Society (CAS), a New York City institution for more than 160 years, operates a “Food Justice ” program, working with children and youth in poverty in the city to educate them about the disparity in access to affordable and healthy food by children in New […]

Arizona Creates Cabinet-Level Division to Monitor and Enforce Child Safety and Family Services In 2014, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer followed the precedent set by 10 other state chief executives, disbanding the state’s child protective services, seeking to replace it with an independent agency that would report directly to the governor’s office. Governor Brewer used an […]

Ohio Advisory Group Makes Recommendations to Attorney General In late 2012, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine put together a panel known as the Foster Care Advisory Group, a collection of child welfare expert tasked with taking a close look at the state’s child welfare system, and with making specific recommendations to increase the safety and […]