Children and the law in a nutshell / by Sarah H. Ramsey, Douglas E. Abrams.

Includes index.

Status, rights & obligations of children. An introduction to the juvenile court system ; The nature and sources of children's status, rights and obligations ; The law's evolving conception of children's status, rights and obligations ; May children articulate their own interests? -- Defining the child-parent relationship. Establishing paternity or maternity ; Questioning the definition of "parent" ; Guardianship and the guardian's role -- Child abuse and neglect. Introduction ; Reporting statutes and investigation ; Limits on intervention ; Patterns of abuse and neglect ; Responsibilities of Child Protective Services ; The reasonable efforts requirement ; Termination of parental rights ; The role of the child's attorney -- Foster care. Introduction ; Foster care structure ; Permanency planning ; The foster child's right to a "family" ; The foster child's right to services and protection ; Liability for harm. ; Types of placements ; Guardianship -- Criminal abuse and neglect. The nature of criminal enforcement ; Abuse, neglect and child endangerment ; Sexual abuse -- Adoption. Introduction ; Who may adopt a child? ; Adoption intermediaries and their regulation ; The consent requirement ; Open adoption ; Cultural and religious identity ; International adoption ; Post-adoption disputes ; Adoptee's rights to "learn their roots" -- Medical decision-making. Decision-making authority ; Medical neglect ; Withholding or terminating medical care ; Payments for the child's medical care -- Financial responsibility and control. The child support obligation ; Capacity to contract ; The child's property ; Torts and family relations -- Regulation of children's conduct. Child labor laws ; Alcohol regulation ; Tobacco regulation ; Driving privileges ; Child highway safety ; Gambling ; Firearms ; Other regulated conduct ; Juvenile curfews ; Status offenses -- Delinquency. A brief look at juvenile crime in America ; The juvenile court as an institution ; The contours of delinquency ; The adjudicatory process ; Disposition.