Parental Rights Research Articles

Intersectional racial and gender bias in family court

AbstractCustody cases characterized by conflict may involve allegations of abuse or parental alienation, necessitating a thorough examination of the situation for the child’s wellbeing. This case series describes stereotypes and biases faced by three racialized fathers, resulting in problems in the processes and outcomes of the family court system. Occurring at the intersection of race, culture, religion, and gender, social myths about these fathers of South Asian and MENA (Middle Eastern, North African, Arab) descent led to inequities in parental rights and harm to their children. Biases experienced by fathers included racism, sexism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia, which manifested as presumptions that such fathers espoused outdated gender roles, exerted excessive authority in the home, and were unwilling to adapt to mainstream culture—which can bias the decision-making of custody evaluators, child advocates, lawyers, and judges. This paper presents the relevant facts of each case, critical errors made by the court—such as ignoring the voices of the fathers, delayed verdict delivery, inadequate assessment of abuse, and failure to prioritize the children's welfare. This article discusses stigma, abuse, interracial dynamic, and the mental health toll of this process on fathers, despite having respected professions and financial resources. Also addressed is the challenge of differentiating parental alienation from estrangement due to child abuse when children reject a parent. It is hoped that by recognizing and addressing these biases outcomes in parental disputes can be greatly improved.

LGBTQ+ Families, Welfare, and Same-sex Marriage Legalisation in Taiwan: A Social Policy Perspective

This article examines whether and to what extent legalised same-sex marriage can assist lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) people to develop family life and protect them from defamilisation and familisation risks. It focuses on the provision of and gaps in welfare for LGBTQ+ people since Taiwan’s same-sex marriage legalisation in 2019. A content analysis of online community discussions since marriage equality shows that local LGBTQ+ community discussions were filled with concerns about the lack of familial status for cross-border couples, lack of legal parental status and rights for same-sex parents, and questions about heteronormative values and kinship ties. This article reveals how heteronormative assumptions embedded in the policy system and in the wider society adversely influence LGBTQ+ people’s welfare, and identifies supplementary and alternative measures. It highlights the importance of providing universal basic services free from heteronormative biases and prioritising the well-being and rights of all citizens.

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs: Progress Towards More Family-Centered Systems of Care.

Children and youth with special health care needs have increasingly been included in community and society over the past 50 years. Changing definitions and programs in the education, health, and public health/Title V sectors document this greater inclusion. The most profound change was in the education system, with the passage of legislative mandates for inclusion and parental rights. Although the health system has no similar universal mandate, the sequential passage of Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Plan, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act led to expanded health care coverage with no pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps. Title V of the Social Security Act, originally passed in 1935, evolved from a focus on individual medical services to a public health systems approach focusing on building family-centered, coordinated, comprehensive care in community settings. Most of the changes in all the sectors are the result of the advocacy and engagement of parents and families; the Maternal and Child Health Bureau was a supportive and innovative leader for family-professional partnerships. Much work on understanding disparities across the sectors has led to more recent focus on equity.

Applicable Laws for Foreign-related Parental Rights Disputes and Applications of Relevant International Conventions －On the Application of International Conventions in Judgment No. 8 of the Constitutional Court of 2022

Applicable Laws for Foreign-related Parental Rights Disputes and Applications of Relevant International Conventions －On the Application of International Conventions in Judgment No. 8 of the Constitutional Court of 2022

Exploring the Experiences of Florida Elementary School Counselors Implementing the Parental Rights in Education Act

Anti-LGBTQ+ school legislation has proliferated across the United States in recent years, with potential consequences for both students and school counselors. Florida’s controversial 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act offers one such example. In this descriptive, phenomenological, qualitative study, we examined the experiences of 10 Florida elementary school counselors regarding the implementation of the Parental Rights in Education Act. We identified three distinct themes from the participants that related to understanding, implementation, and impact of the Act. We discuss these themes and implications for training, practice, and advocacy in the school counseling profession.

Проблемы в осуществлении родительских прав родителем, проживающим отдельно от несовершеннолетнего ребенка

This article discusses legal problems in the exercise of parental rights to communicate with a minor child by a conscientious and law-abiding parent living separately from the child.The relevance of the topic is justified by the weakening of the traditional institution of the family, which is characterized by a continuous increase in the number of divorced marriages and, accordingly, an increase in the number of single-parent families.The legal framework regulating the exercise of parental rights is analyzed.It examines how much the real legal status of a separated parent differs from the declared one and whether it is sufficient to carry out parental responsibilities for the upbringing and development of a minor child.It is shown that in the current legal reality, the equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses after their divorce is not respected, since the parental rights of a separately living parent are significantly limited, which ultimately leads to the actual loss of responsibility for raising the child by this parent. Keywords: Parental rights, parent, minor child, legal norms, family code, constitution, court, guardianship, separate residence, equality of rights and responsibilities, marriage, single-parent family.

Noting the Impact of Lockdown Co-Parenting Regulations on the Wellbeing of Children in South Africa

The South African government introduced a strict lockdown and related legislation in reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic. During lockdown, the movement of children between co-holders of parental rights and responsibilities of a caregiver, as defined in section 1(1) of the Children's Act 38 of 2005, was prohibited. The movement of persons was only permitted in essential cases, leading to children being "stuck" with one co-holder or even a person with no parental responsibilities and rights. A court order was to be obtained for permission for a child to travel, proving that this was urgent and essential. The lockdown regulations on the movement of children covered only those in a formal arrangement and excluded co-parents without court orders and those in the process of divorce. The closure of schools for approximately three months resulted in a significant increase in inter-parental disputes. These conflicts primarily revolved around the regulations stipulating that children could only be relocated to households free from Covid-19. The regulations completely ignored the child's emotional needs and were so out of line with other countries in similar circumstances. The regulations were also contrary to the Constitution and Children's Act, which underscore that the best interests of the child are paramount in all matters involving the child as it was not in the child's interests to be with a particular parent or without a particular parent during the lockdown period. This paper aims to identify the issues and effects of co-parenting during the lockdown and present a critique on the circumstances. It is argued that the one-size-fits-all approach introduced by the lockdown regulations was not the most appropriate, as the determining criteria should have been based on what would be best in the child's interest, which should, therefore, be assessed based on a case-by-case analysis.

Balancing Parental Rights and Public Health: The Challenge of Childhood Vaccination in a Changing Landscape.

Balancing Parental Rights and Public Health: The Challenge of Childhood Vaccination in a Changing Landscape.

Child-Sacrificing Drag Queens: Historical Antecedents in Disinformative Narratives Supporting the Drag Queen Story Hour Moral Panic

This paper uses critical disinformation studies to analyze claims that LGBTQ+ communities “groom” children at “Drag Queen Story Hour” (DQSH). We identify anti-homosexual narratives in previous moral panics: the 1950s sexual psychopathy laws, Anita Bryant’s 1977 Save Our Children campaign, and the 1980s Satanic ritual abuse panic. Using critical discourse analysis, we find all disinformative narratives from previous moral panics present in the DQSH discourse, while new themes center transgender people and parental rights. We consider concerns over DQSH a moral panic responding to the gradual mainstreaming of gender nonconformity and increase in LGBTQ+ civil rights and social acceptance.

Does participation in a court-based trauma-focused evaluation program influence permanency outcomes for children involved in the child welfare system?

BackgroundChildren involved in the child welfare system, especially those in out-of-home care, experience high rates of mental health symptoms. Mental health symptoms have been linked to worse permanency outcomes in this population. ObjectiveThe present study aimed to evaluate whether children who received a trauma-focused evaluation, compared to children who received usual care, experienced differential permanency outcomes, as well as other court-related outcomes (e.g., legal system involvement). Participants and settingOne-hundred and twenty-five children (58% female, Mage = 10.61) from a family court in the Northeastern United States participated in a trauma-focused evaluation program. MethodsData for the current study were collected via a retrospective chart. Participants were recruited at a family court of a Northeastern state. Between-groups differences on court-related outcomes were assessed using logistic regression and Kaplan Meier estimates. FindingsThere were no significant differences between children who received the trauma-focused evaluation program versus usual care in the likelihood for guardianship changes, termination of parental rights, new child welfare petitions or new juvenile legal petitions. The groups significantly differed in the likelihood of case closure; children who received the trauma-focused evaluation program were more likely to experience case closure compared to children who received usual care. Additionally, on average, children who received the trauma-focused evaluation program achieved case closure almost 8 months sooner. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that initiatives aimed at identifying mental health concerns and linking children placed in out-of-home to relevant mental health services care can have a significant and positive impact on permanency outcomes.

Fulfillment of parents’ obligation to carry out child education (germany’s experience)

In the scientific article, the author conducted a scientific study of the peculiarities of parents’ fulfillment of the obligation to raise a child in accordance with German family law, the grounds for the emergence and termination of this family obligation, the elements of rights and obligations that make up the content of parental care. On the basis of the conducted research, the author came to the conclusion that the concept of «parental custody» is used in German family law. as an obligation and at the same time - the rights of parents to take care of their minor child. Parental custody includes such powers of the child’s parents as: representation of the child’s interests in legal relations in which he is the subject, the duty and right of the parents to take care of the child, raise him and supervise him, as well as determine his place of residence , not to apply punishments that encroach on the dignity of the child, the duty and right of parents to help the child in obtaining an education and a profession, taking into account his abilities and inclinations, the right of parents to demand the handover of a child from another person who illegally deprives his parents or one of his parents of the opportunity exercise parental care, certain rights related to medical intervention. For the obligation to raise a child to arise, German family law establishes several legal facts: the presence of the child’s parents in marriage, when the presumption of paternity applies to the person who is the husband of the child’s mother; an application to take care of the child submitted to both parents who are not married; adoption of a decision by the family court to establish parental custody over the child to its parents who are not married, with determination of the limits of such custody for each parent. The fulfillment of the obligation to raise a child in accordance with German family law is carried out with the mutual consent of both parents in the interests of the child; if the parents cannot agree on the exercise of parental custody, their dispute is resolved by the family court, which may grant the right to one of the parents to make an appropriate decision related to the exercise of parental custody.

Whose Egg, Whose Sperm, Whose Household Registration? Reproductive Decisionmaking Among LGBT Parents in China

This article examines how LGBT individuals and couples in China make reproductive decisions in a sociopolitical context characterized by homophobia and an absence of LGBT familial rights and legal recognition. The existing literature on LGBTQ+ childbearing and family formation, based primarily in Euro-American countries, tends to focus on the central role of same-sex marriage legalization and features marriage as the core intimate bond that bestows parental and other familial rights. This article argues that China’s household registration (hukou) system is an equally, if not more, salient regulatory system that determines daily life opportunities, access to state-subsidized schooling and health care, life-long social welfare, and placement in a hierarchy of urban versus rural citizenship. LGBT intending parents in China make reproductive decisions with a child’s hukou in mind, treating genetic contributions, gestational labor, and legal parental status as flexible resources to achieve desired hukou outcomes. The hukou system encourages reproductive strategies that make and unmake LGBT kinship, securing family bonds that otherwise lack legal and social recognition while potentially risking parental precarity. The article suggests new directions for LGBT rights advocacy by focusing on the governing systems and statuses that determine access to key citizenship resources and family rights.

Parental Rights Over Transgender Youth: Furthering a Pressing and Substantial Objective?

Parental rights are increasingly being invoked to oppose the growing inclusion of trans youth in education. Recently, some provinces have proposed or adopted laws and policies predicated on the belief that parents have a right to be informed of their child’s choice of name and pronouns at schools and that trans youth should not be allowed to change the names and pronouns they use at school without parental consent, which I term “blanket veto and disclosure laws.” In this article, I explore whether blanket veto and disclosure laws can be justified under two dominant conceptions of parental rights — parental authority and parental entitlement. Using the framework provided by section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I argue that blanket disclosure and veto laws cannot be justified under either conception of parental rights. Conceived as protection of parental authority, blanket veto and disclosure laws are unjustified because they are not rationally or narrowly tailored to their objective. Conceived as protection of parental entitlement, the laws are unjustified because their objective is inconsistent with the values of a free and democratic society. Regardless of the conception of parental rights we adopt, blanket veto and disclosure laws are constitutionally and politically deficient.

To What Extent can Parental Rights be Limited by “Minimum Educational Standards as may be Laid Down or Approved by the State”?

ABSTRACT The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) affirms parental rights in education through a simple statement: “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” However, in subsequent international treaties, this right is framed with greater complexity. Notably, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (CADE), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRCh) introduce the requirement that this freedom must align with “minimum educational standards” set by the State. In contemporary discussions, the State’s role in regulating and limiting parental rights is increasingly seen as central to the right to education. This raises critical questions about how far such standards can go in restricting parental choice for broader political goals, such as promoting social cohesion. This paper aims to examine the concept of “minimum educational standards” and the extent to which they can be used to curtail parental rights, analyzing key human rights mechanisms and their interpretations. It seeks to clarify the balance between parental freedom in education and State-imposed regulations within the framework of international human rights law.

Increasing access to justice for families through preventive legal advocacy

AbstractWhat is the role of preventive legal advocacy in promoting justice for families and redefining child welfare to focus on family and community‐based systems which prioritize community‐based support and to forego government oversight, regulation and punishment? Given the timeline for systemic reforms and the necessity of providing access to justice for families presently struggling to protect their family autonomy, preventive legal advocacy is a critical piece of reform efforts and scholarly attention. This article advocates for the expansion of existing preventive legal advocacy models and legislation codifying early access to counsel with the goal of disrupting the traditional pathways into the child welfare and family regulation system, enforcing the rights of parents and children to their family autonomy and meaningfully supporting families to thrive.

Punitive state policies targeting alcohol use during pregnancy and alcohol consumption among pregnant women

This study aimed to determine whether punitive state alcohol policies targeting pregnant women who drink alcohol are associated with decreased alcohol consumption among pregnant women over time. This study used data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (15 states) between 1990 and 2015. A difference-in-difference (DiD) approach was employed to determine whether passage of state laws changed alcohol consumption rates among pregnant women, while controlling for state and time fixed effects. The study specifically examined punitive state alcohol policies that clarify the admissibility of evidence in child welfare proceedings related to prenatal alcohol exposure, focusing on allegations of child abuse, child neglect, child deprivation, or child dependence, as well as proceedings seeking termination of parental rights. Punitive state alcohol policies were not significantly associated with decreased rates of alcohol consumption among pregnant women (+ 1.54%, 95% CI, -1.47-4.55), within 3 years of implementation. State alcohol policies that adopted a punitive stance toward pregnant women who drink alcohol did not result in the reduction of drinking during pregnancy. Given that punitive policies may not effectively reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy, our findings highlight the need for reevaluation and potential reform to better address maternal/child health outcomes.

Foster care adoption recruitment methods: A review of the literature amid calls for reform in the United States

Over 113,000 children in the child welfare system have had their parent’s rights terminated in America. Family preservation and reunification should be priority goals for child welfare systems to prevent termination of parental rights and lessen the need for foster care adoptions. Systemic change is needed to preserve family bonds and lower the number of children aging out of foster care each year without family. Until that change occurs, foster care adoption is one of the options for permanency for children when returning to family is not possible. Millions of dollars are spent yearly on adoption recruitment strategies to find adoptive homes. There is little research on the outcomes of these models. This scoping review examines the state of the literature on foster care adoption recruitment efforts. The review found a small number of adoption recruitment studies (n = 15). More research should be implemented to better focus child welfare professionals’ effort, time, and funding on the most effective strategies to create permanent homes while also continuing to work on system reform to lessen the need for such adoptions in America.

Features of performing parental duties under French family law

In the paper the author conducted a scientific study of the peculiarities of the performance of parental duties under the family law of the French Republic. It is noted that the French Civil Code uses the concepts of "parental authority" and "parental authority" to define the set of personal non-property and property rights of parents in the legal relationship between parents and children. French family law defines parental authority as a set of rights and obligations aimed at ensuring the best interests of the child. Parental authority belongs to the parents until the child reaches the age of majority or emancipation, for the purpose of protecting the child, ensuring the protection of his safety, health, protection of private life and his morality, ensuring his education and development, provided that the child is involved in making decisions related to exercise of parental authority, in accordance with the degree of maturity and age of the child; it cannot be carried out with the use of physical or psychological violence against the child. The main requirements for the exercise of parental authority (parental authority) by French family law are the proportionality of its exercise by each parent in accordance with the capabilities of each parent and the needs of the child); their joint implementation by both parents, unless otherwise established by a court decision in family matters; the emergence of parental rights and obligations on the basis of marriage and the birth of a child in it or within a year after the dissolution of the marriage, on the basis of a joint statement or a court decision in family matters; their termination in case of recognition of the father or mother as incapable, deprivation of parental rights or death; changing the conditions of their implementation by one of the parents is subject to prior and timely informing of the other parent and agreement with him. French family law defines the possibility of transferring (delegating) parental authority to a third party, a family member or trusted relative, a childcare facility or a departmental service for children at the request of the parents, a person, an institution or a service where the child is (while transferring (delegating) is not subject to the right of parents to consent to the adoption of a minor child). According to the French Civil Code, such management is carried out jointly by both parents, and in the case that parental authority is exercised by one of the parents - by the parent who exercises it.

Participation of guardianship authorities in determining the child’s place of residence

The article analyzes the norms of family legislation of Ukraine regarding the determination of the child’s place of residence in case of divorce. The purpose of the research is to study the process of decision-making by guardianship and guardianship bodies, to evaluate the effectiveness of their activities, which will contribute to ensuring the best interests of the child and equal rights of parents. Particular attention is paid to determining the role of guardianship and care authorities in this process. It has been established that their participation is possible in two forms: 1) resolution by the body of guardianship and custody of the dispute on the determination of the child’s place of residence; 2) provision of a written opinion of the body of guardianship and guardianship during the consideration of cases by the court on the determination of the child’s place of It has been proven that the role of guardianship and guardianship authorities in determining the place of residence of a child is significant, as they are involved in the event of a lack of consensus between parents regarding the residence of a minor child. The process of decision-making by guardianship and guardianship bodies is characterized. The main stages in solving the issue of determining the child’s place of residence with the participation of the guardianship and guardianship authorities are highlighted: 1. Appeal to the parents’ guardianship and guardianship authorities. 2. Conducting by guardianship and care authorities a conversation with the parents and drawing up a certificate of examination of the child’s living conditions. 3. Decision-making by guardianship and guardianship bodies is based on the analysis of conditions and consideration of the child’s opinion and is formed in the form of a conclusion. Important evaluation criteria are the parents’ attitude towards the fulfillment of parental duties, the child’s personal attachment to each parent, the child’s health and other circumstances of significant importance. The main principles that guardianship and guardianship authorities should be guided by when determining a child’s place of residence are analyzed, such as ensuring the best interests of the child and equal rights of parents. Special attention is paid to problematic aspects that arise during decision-making by guardianship and guardianship bodies, which include the establishment of the child’s true psycho-emotional state by a psychologist, ensuring the child’s appearance in court or the guardianship body and custody at a permanent pre-war place of residence.

Safeguarding Families and Rights of Parents with Intellectual Disability Involved in Child Protection

Safeguarding Families and Rights of Parents with Intellectual Disability Involved in Child Protection