1st Edition
Handbook of Children in the Legal System
This handbook brings together the relevant literature on children and their developmental characteristics, the legal venues in which they may appear, and the systemic issues practitioners must consider to provide a thorough guide to working with children in the legal system.
Featuring contributions from leading mental health and legal experts, chapters start with an overview and history of the juvenile justice system along with discussion of critical developmental areas imperative to consider for work with children, and idiosyncratic issues that arise. The book ends with a case presentation section that illustrates the varied roles and venues in which children appear in the legal system. An extended bibliography provides additional resources and literature to investigate specific topics in greater length.
This accessible and useable guide is designed to appeal to a broad range of people encountering children in the legal system, including social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, attorneys, and judges. It will also benefit professions such as law enforcement as well as probation officers, child protective workers, school personnel, and medical personnel.
Foreword
Introduction
Ginger C. Calloway and S. Margaret Lee
PART ONE: Overview
Section I: Overview of Juvenile Justice System
Chapter 1: The Push-Me-Pull-You of Juvenile Justice
Mary Cecil Wilson
Chapter 2: A View from the Bench: Perspectives of a Former Juvenile Court Judge.
Marcia Morey
Section II: Developmental Variables
Chapter 3: Children’s Memory for Forensically Relevant Experiences
Lynne Baker-Ward, Peter Ornstein, and Taylor E. Thomas
Chapter 4: Navigating Tricky Waters: Understanding and Supporting Children’s Testimony about Experiencing and Witnessing Violence.
Deborah Goldfarb, Hana Chae. and Laura Shambaugh
PART TWO: Assessment
Chapter 5: Assessment: Methods, Measures, Protocols and Report Writing
S. Margaret Lee
PART THREE: Case Studies
Chapter 6: Out of Home Care: Depending on the Kindness of Strangers
Barbara L. Mercer
Chapter 7: Attachment Relationships for Attorneys: Using Expert Testimony to Guide the Courts Determination of Children’s Best Interests in Family Court Cases
Alicia Jurney, Introduction by Ginger C. Calloway
Chapter 8: Considerations when Working with Central American Immigrant Children in the Legal System
Giselle A. Hass
Chapter 9: Adolescent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Civil Aren
Amy Levy
Chapter 10: Interviewing Children about Sexual Abuse
Jacqueline Singer
Chapter 11: Interpersonal Violence and Children
Nancy W. Olesen
Chapter 12: Giving Voice to Children in Non-Traditional Families
Deborah Wald and S. Margaret Lee
Chapter 13: Hague Convention Cases
S. Margaret Leeand Brent D. Seymour
Chapter 14: Resist Refuse Dynamics in Family Law with Young Child
Ginger C. Calloway and S. Margaret Lee
Chapter 15: A Case of Juvenile Homicide with Complex Issues of Mental Illness and Developmental Disorder
Ginger C. Calloway
Chapter 16: The Role of Advocates for Children in Dependency Court
Sally Wilson Erny
Appendix A
Appendix B
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Ginger C. Calloway, PhD, is a clinically trained psychologist whose areas of forensic expertise include evaluation for Atkins’ cases, evaluations of juveniles, evaluations for various legal competencies, and specific areas of consultation to attorneys.
S. Margaret Lee, PhD, is a psychologist whose work focus is providing services to divorcing families and family law attorneys. Dr. Lee is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences in different areas of psychology/family law.
"In a time when children have been largely silenced during this global pandemic, Drs. Ginger Calloway and Margaret Lee have given careful, thoughtful and compassionate voice to children involved in our legal systems. Featuring internationally known legal and mental health scholars with impeccable reputations in the legal community, this edited book provides a key resource for learning about the various legal systems that impact children, including juvenile justice, dependency, family law, immigration and criminal. Written by practitioners for practitioners, this book is both comprehensive and easy to read with several case studies to expand on concepts and to showcase the voices of children. This book is a must read for both mental health and legal professionals working with children in the legal system and for students interested in children and the law."
Michael Saini, PhD, MSW, RSW, associate professor, Factor-Inwentash chair in Law and Social Work, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
