Child Rights and Remedies: How the U.S. Legal System Affects Children

Child Rights and Remedies is a text designed for a survey course in U.S. child-related law and policy. Its author is a law professor and child advocate, but the work is deliberately broad and interdisciplinary - intended for use in schools of public health, social work, education, political science and sociology, as well as law. The text combines some of the features of a sociology/public health text, including empirical data, study summaries and commentaries, with the case study approach of a law text, excerpting and commenting upon the leading appellate cases affecting children. The first chapter of the text addresses underlying political science/sociology questions: Who has access to the levers of political/legal power? How do legislatures, agencies, and courts consider the interests of children in their deliberations? How do the "rules of the game" affect the balance between organized, profit-stake interests, and the diffuse and future interests of children? What system adjustments would benefit children (e.g., campaign finance, conflicts of interest, lobbying rules, tax incentives, sunshine statutes, media coverage, legal aid standing, mandamus or class action availability, et al.)? What is the constitutional standing of children, and how might an amendment affect child rights? The second chapter covers adult reproductive rights from the point of view of children, including census and other data on the interaction between those adult decisions and child welfare, and the relevant leading court cases. Chapters 3 through 7 then respectively cover child poverty and safety net/nutrition protection, education opportunities (including higher education), health and safety coverage, special needs children (prevention, SSI, IDEA), and child care provision. Coverage of these entitlements/public investment subjects is not included in typical law texts and includes data and trends on the status of U.S. children, and an explanation of current programs, spending, and leading interpretive case law. While cataloguing the large number of programs promoted for child advancement, the work also documents areas of child disinvestment - from safety net support to higher education diminution. Remaining chapters 8 through 13 include the subject matter often included in juvenile law courses: child abuse, juvenile justice, and civil liberties (including freedom of religion, right to parent). These remaining chapters also extend somewhat beyond typical law text coverage to include child rights to custody, family support and emancipation, and child rights to property, contract and tort recovery. In each respective subject matter, the work presents basic information about the status of children, existing government statutes and programs, major current policy issues, and the 70 leading and recent appellate cases. Traditional cases covered include Wisconsin v. Yoder, In re Gault, Brown v. Board of Education, and many others. In addition the three cases most objectionable to child advocates are presented in some detail: Smith v. OFFER, DeShaney, and Parham. Each of the 70 excerpted case opinions is followed by "questions for discussion" intended to highlight the flaws, anomalies, biases, and child impact of evolving law. The book avoids heavy reliance on legal terms of art, and seeks to include material relevant to child psychology, sociology, health and safety, and the political power of children and their advocates.