Child Protection Law Report articles from March 2005

Child Protection Law Report archives from March 2005

Identity thieves.(SLANTS & TRENDS)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... IDENTITY THIEVES are now targeting teenagers, and the government is trying to educate potential victims about the danger. According to a 2003 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report, young people comprise 31 percent of the approximately 10...

Legislation introduced to improve services to at-risk youth.(Federal Youth Coordination Act of 2005)
March 1, 2005... Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) introduced a bill on February 16 that would improve communication among federal agencies that serve at-risk youth. The legislation--the Federal Youth Coordination Act of 2005--resulted in part from a finding of a...

Retail giant Wal-Mart fined for violating Child Labor Law.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Department of Labor (DOL) fined Wal-Mart $135,000 for violating the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The department's Wage and Hour Division determined that the retailer employed 85 minors aged 16 and 17...

State considers three strikes law for abusive parents.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Four-year-old Sirita Sotelo had been living with her foster family for a year when the state returned her to her biological father. Her death, coming just a few months after being reunited with her family, was ruled "homicide by abuse." Her...

Identity theft criminals targeting young people.
March 1, 2005... Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. Law enforcement officials have identified domestic drug rings and Eastern European gangs as the culprits. However, the perpetrators are sometimes closer to home. ...

Welfare Law update might include $6 billion for child care.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... On March 9, the Senate Committee on Finance approved by voice vote legislation to reauthorize the 1996 welfare program for another five years. The Personal Responsibility and Individual Responsibility for Everyone (PRIDE) bill was presented by...

New legislation would make head start more accountable.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) has introduced the Head Start Accountability Act of 2005, which he believes will ensure greater accountability for Head Start agencies so that they remain competitive, responsive and compliant with federal law. ...

Mass. Big Sister group seeks infusion of volunteers.(Big Sister Association of Greater Boston)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Troubled or disadvantaged girls in Boston seeking mentors are finding they are in short supply. The Big Sister Association of Greater Boston says that there are over 300 girls on its waiting list, but the number of volunteers has not kept up...

Legislation to provide treatment without relinquishment of custody.
March 1, 2005... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has reintroduced a bill designed to prevent parents from being forced to give up custody of their children solely to obtain necessary mental health treatment. A bipartisan group of lawmakers originally introduced...

North Dakota population decline results in school closures.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Six school districts in the state of North Dakota will soon consolidate their educational facilities because of declining enrollment. Census Bureau figures reveal that in the past five years, the state's child population (ages 5-17) has fallen...

Wisconsin contemplates opening juvenile sex offender records.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Because state statutes in Wisconsin prohibited law enforcement officials from disclosing juvenile records, recently they were unable to tell community members about a 23-year-old man in their midst who had sexually assaulted a little girl when...

Jury reaches guilty verdict in Zoloft murder case.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A South Carolina jury found a 15-year-old guilty of murder for killing his grandparents despite the teenager's claim that the antidepressant Zoloft made him commit the crimes. Christopher Pittman was 12 years old when he shot his...

Children's initiative to improve life for Maryland children.(Children's Electronic Social Services Information Exchange)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich has unveiled a Children's Initiative that he hopes will improve the lives of the state's children. In a statement released by his office, the Republican governor said that his administration is "serious about...

Grants in the amount of $200,000 are available to educational agencies under the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Program.
March 1, 2005... Grants in the amount of $200,000 are available to educational agencies under the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Program. The purpose of the program is to carry out scientifically-based research, demonstration projects and...

Policy group says Social Security changes could effect children.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) recently issued a fact sheet, "Why Social Security Matters to Children and Families," that raises questions policymakers should consider before changing the Social Security program. The ongoing...

Chromosome damage in babies related to pollutants in air.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Exposure of pregnant women to urban air pollution may change the structure of babies' chromosomes while in the womb, finds scientists at the Columbia University Center for Children's Environmental Health. The researchers studied 60...

Students not impressed by first amendment, study finds.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The freedoms that form the foundation of American life--speech, religion, press and assembly--are not important to teenagers, at least not to the 100,000 high schoolers recently surveyed about First Amendment issues. When researchers at...

Supreme Court: no death penalty for juvenile killers.(Child Protection Law Abstracts)
March 1, 2005... Roper v. Simmons, No. 03-633 United States Supreme Court March 1, 2005 The execution of murderers who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes is unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court has held. The practice violates the...

"Best Interest" test applies when changing child's name.(Child Protection Law Abstracts)
March 1, 2005... Poindexter v. Poindexter, No. 04-230 Supreme Court of Arkansas February 10, 2005 Stacey Poindexter filed for divorce from her husband Ryan in February 2003. At the time, she was pregnant with their second child. She gave birth in March and...

Summer homework permitted.(Child Protection Law Abstracts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A court in Wisconsin has thrown out a high school student's lawsuit that sought to prohibit summer homework. (Larson v. Burmaster, No. 2005CV000159, Mar. 9, 2005). The Milwaukee County Circuit Court determined that decisions about homework were...

Attorney must be provided for indigent dad appealing adoption.(Child Protection Law Abstracts)
March 1, 2005... In re Adoption of L.T.M., No. 95746 Supreme Court of Illinois January 21, 2005 L.T.M.'s mother and the mother's husband filed a successful petition to adopt L.T.M. The circuit court terminated the parental rights of John M., the biological...

Mother can baptize child without consent of father.(Child Protection Law Abstracts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Hicks v. Hicks, No. 701 WDA 2004 Superior Court of Pennsylvania February 14, 2005 A mother can have her nine-year-old daughter (M.H.) baptized into the Russian Orthodox faith without the consent of the girl's father, ruled Judge Zoran...

State must prove child in need of protection.(Child Protection Law Abstracts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Care and Protection of Erin, No. SJC-09330 Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts March 3, 2005 In ruling on a petition for review and redetermination of a custody order, the Department of Social Services (DSS) always bears the burden of...

Child labor.(finance to be provided for eradication)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... CHILD LABOR. Stephen Law, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Labor (DOL), will travel to India to assess the progress of a project sponsored by DOL to eliminate exploitive child labor in India. The two countries have pledged to contribute...

Droopy pants.(wearing low hip pants)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... DROOPY PANTS. The Virginia House of Delegates passed and then the state Senate rescinded legislation that would have fined people $50 for wearing their pants so low as to display their underwear. The measure (HB 1981) had been proposed after...

Tanning.(new laws)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... TANNING. New York Teenagers between 14 and 18 years old who want to go to a tanning salon would have to be accompanied by a parent under a bill introduced by Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-Setauket). The Suffolk County, New York legislator...

Bomb class.(teacher teach bomb making)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... BOMB CLASS. Police arrested an Orange County, Fla., chemistry teacher for allegedly teaching high school students how to make a bomb. The teacher admitted that he detonated chemicals in a coffee can in an outdoor area. The detonation, the...

The Samuel Harris Fund for Children's Dental Health (a program of the American Dental Association) will award competitive grants to applicants whose oral health promotion programs are designed to improve and maintain children's oral health through community education programs.(Funding News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Samuel Harris Fund For Children's Dental Health (a program of the American Dental Association) will award competitive grants to applicants whose oral health promotion programs are designed to improve and maintain children's oral health...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the availability of funds for planning and implementing a youth violence prevention program.(Funding News)
March 1, 2005... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the availability of funds for planning and implementing a youth violence prevention program. The deadline for letters of intent is April 1; the application deadline is May 2, 2005....

Resources.(child welfare)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... * Child Trends is offering over 20 different publications FREE for a limited time. There is a $10 charge for shipping and handling, and the minimum order is 25 copies. The titles include "Helping Teens Develop Healthy Social Skills and...

Calendar.(Calendar)
March 1, 2005... * March 22. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), in conjunction with the Juvenile Sanctions Center (JSC), will air the satellite videoconference titled "Graduated Sanctions: An Effective Intervention Strategy for...