scholarly journals Applying Lessons from the U.S. Indian Child Welfare Act to Recently Passed Federal Child Protection Legislation in Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Hayley Hahn ◽  
Johanna Caldwell ◽  
Vandna Sinha
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Indian Child ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Indian Child Welfare Act ◽  
Indigenous Children

Indigenous children are overrepresented in child protection systems in the United States and to an even greater degree in Canada. Canada has recently passed federal child welfare legislation, Bill C-92, with the goal of affirming the rights of Indigenous Peoples and establishing guidelines with respect to child and family services for Indigenous children. The aim of this article is to contribute to ongoing discussions about the recently passed Canadian legislation, drawing on lessons learned in the United States context. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), passed in the United States in 1978, has created a legislative paradigm, which in some cases has been bolstered by state-level provisions. The ICWA can provide helpful lessons to consider in Canada as the new legislation is implemented and amended over time. Specifically, we examine elements of the ICWA related to accessibility and compliance with the law, along with deeper analysis of state-level statutes related to adoption provisions in light of the phenomenon of transracial adoption of Indigenous children. As reactions to the Canadian federal law have been mixed, this policy analysis may be supportive of conversations regarding its further development, particularly related to funding and enforcement. On a broader level, considerations of Indigenous community jurisdiction over child and family policies within our discussion are relevant to various settler-colonial contexts.

Improving Advanced Care Planning through Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Expansion across the United States: Lessons Learned from State-Based Developments

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah S. Mack ◽  
David Dosa
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Program Development ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Life Sustaining Treatment ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Over Time

Background: The Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Paradigm is an effective advance care planning tool. However, barriers to implementation persist. In the United States, POLST program development occurs at the state-level. Substantial differences between states has left POLST implementation largely unstandardized. No peer-reviewed studies to date have evaluated state-based POLST program development over time. Objective: To assess and learn from the successes and barriers in state-based POLST program development over time to improve the reach of POLST or similar programs across the United States. Design: An exploratory, prospective cohort study that utilized semistructured telephone interviews was conducted over a 3-year period (2012-2015). Stakeholder representatives from state POLST coalitions (n = 14) were repeatedly queried on time-relevant successes, barriers, and innovations during POLST program development with levels of legislative and medical barriers rated 1 to 10. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using techniques grounded in qualitative theory. Results: All coalition representatives reported continuous POLST expansion with improved outreach and community partnerships. Significant barriers to expansion included difficulty in securing funding for training and infrastructure, lack of statewide metric systems to adequately assess expansion, lack of provider support, and legislative concerns. Medical barriers (mean [standard deviation]: 5.0 [0.2]) were rated higher than legislative (3.0 [0.6]; P < .001). Conclusion: POLST programs continue to grow, but not without barriers. Based on the experiences of developing coalitions, we were able to identify strategies to expand POLST programs and overcome barriers. Ultimately the “lessons learned” in this study can serve as a guide to improve the reach of POLST or similar programs.

scholarly journals From Rapists to Superpredators: what the practice of capital punishment says about race, rights and the American child

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Linde
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
International System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Juvenile Courts ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Two Factors

AbstractAt the turn of the 20th century, the United States was widely considered to be a world leader in matters of child protection and welfare, a reputation lost by the century's end. This paper suggests that the United States' loss of international esteem concerning child welfare was directly related to its practice of executing juvenile off enders. The paper analyzes why the United States continued to carry out the juvenile death penalty after the establishment of juvenile courts and other protections for child criminals. Two factors allowed the United States to continue the juvenile death penalty after most states in the international system had ended the practice: the politics of American federalism and a system of racial subordination that excluded some juvenile off enders from the umbrella of child protection measures, a conclusion suggesting that racial prejudice has interfered with U.S. compliance with international norms of child welfare and juvenile justice.

State Implementation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-47
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Harris ◽  
Scott Walfield ◽  
Christopher Lobanov-Rostovsky ◽  
Michelle A. Cubellis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Title I ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multidimensional Analysis ◽  
Department Of Justice ◽  
Sex Offender Registration ◽  
The U.S

The 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, established federal standards related to the content and operation of sex offender registration and notification systems across the United States. As of early 2017, over a decade following passage, 18 of 50 states had been designated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as having substantially implemented SORNA—figures that might be initially interpreted as indicators of a failed policy. Yet a closer analysis suggests that SORNA implementation is complex and multifaceted and that viewing the policy’s “success” through such a binary prism may be inherently limited. In this context, the current study offers a multidimensional analysis of state-level SORNA implementation based on data abstracted from DOJ records. Findings indicate that many aspects of SORNA have been universally or widely implemented, that most states have adopted policies that are consistent with a majority of SORNA standards, and that barriers to SORNA implementation are concentrated among a limited subset of issues, notably those related to retroactive application, registration of juveniles, and means of classifying registrants. Implications for state and federal policy governing sex offender registration are discussed.

Reframing the Orphan Mandate

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
Bonni Goodwin ◽  
Angela Pharris ◽  
Dallas Pettigrew
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Colonial America ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Indian Child Welfare Act ◽  
Faith Tradition ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Indigenous Children

Caring for the orphan is a biblical mandate for those who follow the Christian faith tradition. Yet, far too often, this charge has led to coercion and exploitation of marginalized populations. This manuscript will examine this phenomenon through the adoption of Indigenous people starting in colonial America, when Christian missionaries from Europe believed it was their spiritual obligation to “save” young Indigenous children from their “heathen” culture. This belief still shapes many adoption practices today. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is presented as a step towards legal reparations for the harm done to Indigenous people during this time period. The idea of reparations is discussed as a vital step towards another Christian biblical mandate calling for active repair of broken relationships. Ultimately, this manuscript concludes with an application of the model of praxis from liberation theology to reframe how Christian social workers may approach caring for the orphan.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document