Standing Alongside Your Attorney
Fight Your Case!  Sue Them!  Lawsuit Information on How to Start
Authored & Edited by
egypt

Please refer to eBook
 Standing InThe Shadow of the Law
 by Marilyn Harrison
http://rscraps.com/NFPCAR/Shadow/index.htm
(Available for download)

Parental Rights & the Juvenile Justice System

By Thomas M. Dutkiewicz, President

Special Family Advocate

Connecticut DCF Watch

Admin@connecticutDCFwatch.com

www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was your caseworker “new?”  Maybe they did not do what they were supposed to or

went about it the wrong way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caregivers of Young Children: Preventing and Responding to Child Maltreatment :
Minimizing the Risk of Maltreatment in Early Childhood Programs
... the candidate's prior work experience and attitudes toward children and, if applicable, criminal record. Orientation training during a probationary period to help the new employee adjust to the job ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thought this would be of interest to our members in NFPCAR.  Thanks to the Legal Self Representation group for this info.

 Nancee in CA

law_self_help <law_self_help@yahoo.com> wrote:  This is for Florida but would be similar to other States
http://www.flabarap pellate.org/ asp/pro_sehandbo ok.asp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Words Hurt: Investigating and Proving a Case of Psychological Maltreatment
Vieth
Reasonable Efforts (American Prosecutors Research Institute), 2(1), 2004
Provides techniques for investigators in cases of psychological maltreatment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Were standards adhered to?

Standards for Caseworker Visits With Children in Foster Care
... to record the frequency of caseworker visits and produce statewide reports is to implement an automated system, such as the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS), capable of ...

Also:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Take online caseworker test to evaluate which rights cw's violated

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maybe the caseworker or agency was more concerned with documentation

& federal funding eligibility to do a proper job

Preparing an Agency for Disaster... to agency records? Consider whether all critical documents are in SACWIS, whether documents could be recreated, and how benefits eligibility would be determined for children if no records were ..

Technologies Enhance Caseworker Capabilities
... Welfare Information System (SACWIS) into the Tablet PC, input new data into the PC while in the field, and then upload the new information into the primary SACWIS when they return to their office ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Were You Really One of These?

The following is from “Perpetrators” (below, see “publications  from Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Characteristics of Perpetrators

Most States define perpetrators of child abuse and neglect as parents and other caretakers (such as relatives, babysitters, and foster parents) who have harmed a child in their care. It is important to note that States define the term "caretaker" differently. Harm caused to a child by others (such as acquaintances or strangers) may not be considered child abuse but rather may be considered a criminal matter.

The following resources provide information on the characteristics of perpetrators of child abuse and neglect.

Perpetrators
Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2007)
In Child Maltreatment 2005
Data on the characteristics of perpetrators, their relationship to their child victims, and the types of maltreatment they commit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Legal Information on various topics for each state:

http://www.lawhelp.org/

Take online cw test to evaluate which rights cw's violated:

http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/AFRA_ Newshawk/ message/16162

Specific to Canada – but, educates on how to sue:

            http://www.cwlc.ca/files/file/events/CW%20and%20Civil%20Liability%20(05).pdf

This is a great site.  Here is the edited link:

http://www.fightcpspackets.info/

To compel a government agency or a lower court:

http://www.ailf.org

Statistics & Research:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/statsresearch/index.htm

Incidentally Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations claims have 4 year statute of limitations:

http://www.law. fsu.edu/journals /lawreview/ downloads/ 311/Rowan. pdf

Represent Yourself In Court (How To Prepare A Winning Case) Has a lot of valuable information o

 how to research the laws, legal websites, etc.

            http://www.nolopress.com

Legal Resource Manual for Foster Parents ($15)

http://www.nfpainc. org/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those who are not lawyers and are pro se or pro per (state) litigants, these are some law books

 that I highly recommend that purchase if you can afford them.

Federal Laws of Criminal Procedure
Federal Criminal Procedure & (Federal Rules of Court - Can be obtained free if you pick it up at the Federal Court in your area)
Remedies In A Nutshell - By:William M. Tabb and Elaine W. Shoben (Thompson West)
Collect Your Judgement In 5 Easy Steps - By: Adrienne M. McMillian, ESQ. (Sphinx Publishing)
Understanding White Collar Crime - By: J. Kelly Strader (LexisNexis)

http://www.barristerbooks.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the books listed below  -- includes one for how doctors should determine if sexual abuse occurred

 including 63 pages of photos showing sexual abuse injuries.  Is CPS just saying the child was sexually abused?

Was the child determined as such by a doctor?

New and Noteworthy Publications (from Children’s Bureau of ACF:  http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/articles.cfm?issue_id=2001-03&article_id=237

... they are to be able to access and utilize Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS). The purpose of this trainer's guide is to give supervisors a chance to learn, practice, and ...

Using Information Management to Support the Goals of Safety, Permanency and Well Being: Trainer's Guide. University of Southern Maine, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, Institute for Child and Family Service, Portland, ME. 2000. 249 pp. Free to download from website. Binder.

Information management skills are critical for child welfare supervisors if they are to be able to access and utilize Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS). The purpose of this trainer's guide is to give supervisors a chance to learn, practice, and enhance these skills, using experiential, active learning methods, in a competency-based curriculum. The curriculum is designed to complement and integrate with a State's existing SACWIS and supervisory training, and is organized into eleven modules, which can be customized to fit the needs of any public child welfare agency. Topics include:

• The child welfare supervisor's evolving responsibilities

• How to reduce resistance and build commitment to change

• Identifying, locating, and using key data for informed casework supervision

• Data analysis tips, tools, and techniques

• Using information management to achieve agency goals.

After completing this training, participants should be able to apply what they have learned to their daily supervisory work, and use information from the SACWIS system to improve accountability in child welfare practice.

A Supervisory Seminar Trainer's Guide and a final report for the project are also available at the website.

To purchase a copy, contact:
Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service
96 Falmouth Street
P.O. Box 9300
Portland, Maine 04104-9300
Phone: 207-780-4430
Fax: 207-780-4417
TTY: 207-780-5646
Email: skanak@usm.maine.edu
Website: http://www.muskie.usm.maine.edu
Full text online: http://www.muskie.usm.maine.edu/sacwis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Child Welfare Challenge: Policy, Practice, and Research. Modern Applications of Social Work Series. Second Edition. Pecora, P. J.; Whittaker, J. K.; Maluccio, A. N.; Barth, R. P.; Plotnick, R. D. Aldine de Gruyter, New York, NY. 2000. 612 pp. $30.95. Paperback.

Policy, practice, and research issues intertwine to shape today's child welfare practices, as well as tomorrow's new directions. The authors examine these issues in an historical context, describing current problems in the field, and reviewing recent innovations that could be used to solve these problems. The focus is on areas of service to children who are served by publicly funded agencies:

• Foster care and adoption

• In-home, family-centered services

• Child-protective services

• Residential services.

In each chapter, the authors highlight historical milestones, show how practice has changed in response to response to research findings and public policy, and describe how policy initiatives and research data can or should influence program design and implementation.

To purchase a copy, contact:
Aldine de Gruyter
200 Saw Mill River Rd.
Hawthorne, NY 10532
Phone: 914-747-0110
Fax: 914-747-1326
Email: degruyter.ny@worldnet.att.net
Website: http://www.degruyter.de

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Family Matters: Interfaces Between Child and Adult Mental Health. Reder, P.; McClure, M.; Jolley, A. (Editors). Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 2000. 359 pp. $32.95. Paperback.

Rather than focusing on either child or adult mental health, the authors focus on the complex interactions between parents with mental illness and their children, and how the parents' mental health affects their children's lives. Topics include:

• The long-term effects of childhood trauma on adults

• How parental mental health problems affect children

• How family interaction affects the mental health of all family members.

Based on research and practical experience, the authors recommend changes, including the development of new services for the treatment of adolescents, parenting breakdown, and perinatal psychiatric illness, and liaison initiatives to facilitate treatment planning between child and adult mental health services.

To purchase a copy, contact:
Taylor & Francis, Inc.
325 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-625-8900
Fax: 215-625-2940
Email: info@taylorandfrancis.com
Website: http://www.taylorandfrancis.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evaluation of the Sexually Abused Child: A Medical Textbook and Photographic Atlas. Second Edition. Heger, A.; Emans, S. J.; Muran, D. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. 2000. 351 pp. $79.50. Hardbound, with CD-ROM.

Physicians examining children for suspected sexual abuse often do not have the training they need to make a skilled diagnosis. This comprehensive resource provides step-by-step guidance on interviewing and clinically evaluating possible child sexual abuse cases, and includes sixty-three pages of color photographs that document sexual abuse injuries, and offer comparisons to accidental injuries as well as normal anatomical variations. Also covered:

• Sensitive and practical guidance on the psychological aspects of sexual abuse

• Conducting medical interviews

• Performing physical examinations

• Establishing the diagnosis

• Recognizing sexually transmitted diseases

• The role of the physician in the court room

• Updated laboratory techniques

• Revised protocols for intervention programs

• New data on the lifetime sequelae of sexual abuse.

A CD-ROM offers interactive case studies, an electronic photographic atlas, and additional readings. Appendixes include several State sexual abuse protocols. An annotated bibliography and a glossary are also included.

To purchase a copy, contact:
Oxford University Press, Inc.
2001 Evans Rd.
Cary, NC 27513
Phone: 800-451-7556 or 919-677-5202
Fax: 919-677-1714
Email: orders@oup-usa.org
Website: http://www.oup-usa.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Directory II--Legislative Leadership, Committees & Staff 2000. The Council of State Governments, Lexington, KY 40578. 469 pp. $49.00. Paperback.

This easy-to-use State legislative directory will assist you in locating legislative organizations, selected officers, selected committees, and selected legislative functions. Contact names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, website addresses, email addresses and office hours are provided. Organized alphabetically by State and jurisdiction, all 50 States are included in addition to the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

To purchase a copy, contact:
The Council of State Governments
P.O. Box 11910
Lexington, KY 40578-1910
Phone: 800-800-1910
Fax: 859-244-8001
Email: info@csg.org
Website: http://www.csg.org

n      End listing of books

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How They Operate

The following are publications from the online catalog of Child Welfare Information Gateway http://www.childwelfare.gov/

State Liaison Officers (SLO) for Child Abuse and Neglect

Each State has a designated State Liaison Officer (SLO) for child abuse and neglect. The SLO is responsible for ensuring the compliance to State laws and policies regarding issues such as how and when to investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect. This resource list provides contact information for each State's SLO.

State Foster Care Program Managers

The State Foster Care Manager is the administrator who has oversight responsibility for all foster care services provided to children in the custody of the State and is the key point of contact for concerns regarding foster care programs that cannot be resolved by other existing procedures. This resource list provides contact information for each State's Foster Care Manager.

State Licensing Specialists

This resource listing contains contact information for the State Licensing Specialist for each State and Territory. The State Licensing Specialist is the person who maintains the listing of licensed child placing agencies in each State and Territory.

Statutes of Limitations for Offenses Against Children

All States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories have statutes of limitations for criminal offenses and civil suits. A statute of limitations is a provision in State statutes that establishes a time period within which legal action must be initiated. In a criminal case, the State prosecutor must file charges within a certain time after the commission of the crime. In a civil suit, a person has a limited time for filing a claim alleging that an offense occurred against him or her. Once the time limit prescribed for an offense in the statute of limitations ...

Statutes of Limitations for Offenses Against Children: Summary of State Laws

All States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories have statutes of limitations for criminal offenses and civil suits. A statute of limitations is a provision in State statutes that establishes a time period within which legal action must be initiated. In a criminal case, the State prosecutor must file charges within a certain time after the commission of the crime. In a civil suit, a person has a limited time for filing a claim alleging that an offense occurred against him or her. Once the time limit prescribed for an offense in the statute of limitations ...

(Inserted Not by Child Welfare Information Gateway:

Here are what their activities were supposed to be)

Substitute Care Providers: Helping Abused and Neglected Children

This manual for child welfare personnel provides them with information on serving abused and neglected children who are in family foster care or who are adopted. Section 1 presents background information on substitute care and permanency planning. Section 2 identifies the basic needs of all children and the special needs of both children in substitute care and maltreated children. Section 3 describes the systems, networks, and teams with which people who help maltreated children interact, including the service network and the substitute care team. Section 4 offers guidelines for meeting the needs of maltreated children, focusing on understanding the assessment ...

(Inserted Not by Child Welfare Information Gateway:

Here are what the Caseworker Supervisors are Supposed to DoJ

Supervising Child Protective Services Caseworkers

This manual provides the foundation for effective supervisory practice in child protective services (CPS). It describes the roles and responsibilities of the CPS supervisor, and it provides practice oriented advice on how to carry out supervisory responsibilities effectively. Best practices and critical issues in supervisory practice are underscored throughout. Topics include: The nature of CPS supervision; Making the transition from caseworker to supervisor; Building the foundation for effective unit performance; Building staff capacity and achieving excellence in performance; Supervisory feedback and performance recognition; Results-oriented management; Clinical supervision; Recruitment and retention; Managing from the middle; and Taking care of oneself and ...

(Inserted Not by Child Welfare Information Gateway:

Were these guidelines followed with preventing maltreatment with regard to reunification?)

Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children

Reasonable efforts refer to efforts made by State social services agencies to provide the assistance and services needed to preserve and reunify families. Laws in all States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico require the provision of services that will assist families in remedying the conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. The statutes in most States, however, use a broad definition of what constitutes reasonable efforts. Some commonly used terms associated with reasonable efforts include "family reunification," "family preservation," "family support," and "preventive services."

Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children: Summary of State Laws

Reasonable efforts refer to efforts made by State social services agencies to provide the assistance and services needed to preserve and reunify families. Laws in all States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico require the provision of services that will assist families in remedying the conditions that brought the child and family into the child welfare system. The statutes in most States, however, use a broad definition of what constitutes reasonable efforts. Some commonly used terms associated with reasonable efforts include "family reunification," "family preservation," "family support," and "preventive services." Federal law has long required State agencies to ...

Promoting Healthy Families in Your Community : 2007 Resource Packet

This information packet was written to support child maltreatment prevention efforts by describing strategies and activities that promote protective factors. It is written for service providers, to encourage and support them as they engage and partner with parents to protect, nurture, and promote the healthy development of children. The packet includes suggestions for enhancing each of the five protective factors in families; tip sheets in English and Spanish for providers to use when working with parents and caregivers on specific parenting challenges; strategies for sharing the message about child abuse prevention in communities; and information about child abuse and neglect, ...

(Inserted Not by Child Welfare Information Gateway:

CPS Mindset = As usual, everyone is Guilty-No-Matter-WhatJ

Reducing Re-referral in Unsubstantiated Child Protective Services Cases: Research To Practice

This paper identifies strategies to reduce re-referrals in unsubstantiated child protective services (CPS) cases. Based on the findings of three Children's Bureau funded research grants on unsubstantiated CPS cases, it summarizes the studies' key findings regarding factors influencing CPS decision-making and implications for practice including suggestions for assessing risk more effectively and creative ways to provide services to at-risk families in unsubstantiated cases.

The Program Manager's Guide to Evaluation: An Evaluation Handbook Series from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families

This manual provides an overview of the evaluation process, with special considerations for programs funded by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF). The text describes why evaluations are important and explains each step of the process, whether an outside evaluator is used or the evaluation is being conducted by in-house staff. Topics include: purpose, cost, types of evaluation teams, selecting and managing outside contractors, organizational preparation for the evaluation, evaluation plans, data collection, analysis, and reports. In general, program managers should determine a purpose for the evaluation, consider evaluation needs when designing the program, be an involved role ...

Rethinking Child Welfare Practice Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997: A Resource Guide

The provisions of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) intended to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of children will have a significant impact on child welfare practice. ASFA requires state child welfare agencies to engage parents early in the process, redesign service delivery to achieve permanency goals for children, ensure sufficient resources for families, and partner with the courts. This guide provides a framework for redesigning child welfare practice. It includes an analysis of the key provisions of the Adoption and Safe Families Act and identifies casework practices that are consistent with the law. It highlights the recommendations ...