Dictionary

Wayward = rebellious, insubordinate, defiant

Tort liability = Legal obligation of one party to a victim as a results of a civil wrong or injury. This
action requires some form of remedy from a court system. A tort liability arises because of a
combination of directly violating a person's rights and the transgression of a public obligation causing
damage or a private wrongdoing. Evidence must be evaluated in a court hearing to identify who the
tortfeasor/liable party is in the case.

Transgression = wrongdoing, misbehavior, disobedience, contravention, misdemeanor, offense,

crime, sin,

mete out verb distribute, portion, assign, administer, ration, dispense, allot, dole out, share
out, apportion, deal out,measure out, parcel out, divide out
His father meted out punishment with a slipper.

Class 9: Introducing the Child Welfare System

Content:

 Mary Ellen's Story

 Historical Treatment of Children
 Federal Child Abuse & Neglect Laws
 Principles that Guide Child Abuse & Neglect Laws & Regulations
 The Roles in a Child Welfare Court Case
 Video: Child Protective Services Panel
 Video: Attorney Panel
 Video: Volunteer Advocate Panel
 Discussion Questions
Mary Ellen's Story: One of the first documented cases of
child abuse in the United States

Mary Ellen’s case took place in 1874. Her spirit remains

with us because her case is generally regarded as the beginning of public concern for the plight of abused and
neglected children.

Mary Ellen was a child whose father was dead and whose mother could not care for her because she was
destitute and had to work full-time. The New York Commission of Charities and Correction placed Mary Ellen
with Mary McCormack Connolly and her husband, who were to care for her and report each year on her
progress.

Instead, Mrs. Connolly abused her. She beat Mary Ellen, locked her in a room, rarely allowed her outside, and
did not provide adequate food or clothing.

Upset by the child’s screaming, a neighbor told a mission worker about Mary Ellen. The mission worker could
find no one to intervene; at the time, laws protecting children were not systematically enforced.
The mission worker finally appealed to Henry Bergh, the founder and president of the ASPCA, the American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He took up Mary Ellen’s cause and was able to persuade a
judge to hear her case.

Mary Ellen was carried into the courtroom wrapped in a blanket. This is what the newspaper reported that she
told the judge:

My father and mother are both dead. I don’t know how old I am. . . . I call Mrs. Connolly mamma. I have
never had but one pair of shoes, but I cannot recollect when that was. . . . My bed at night has only been a
piece of carpet stretched on the floor underneath a window. . . . Mamma has been in the habit of whipping and
beating me almost every day. She used to whip me with a twisted whip—a raw hide. . . . She struck me with the
scissors and cut me; I have no recollection of ever having been kissed by any one—have never been kissed by
mamma. . . . Whenever mamma went out I was locked up in the bedroom. . . . I do not want to go back to live
with mamma because she beats me so.

Mary Ellen was removed from the people who had mistreated her. Her case stirred public attention, and
complaints began to pour in to Henry Bergh. So many cases of child beating and cruelty to children came to
light that citizens called a community meeting and formed an association “for the defense of outraged
childhood.” That association gave rise to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which was
formally incorporated the year after Mary Ellen’s situation came to light.

Extra Credit:

Read more about the history of this case and the effects it had on protecting children in this 2009 New York
Times article, Case Shined First Light on Abuse of
Children: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/health/15abus.html?_r=0

Top

Historical Treatment of Children

Historically, many cultures did not value children. There are exceptions to this, of course, and some cultures
have respected and protected children throughout history.

Many practices that were once accepted or condoned would be considered abusive today, such as:
  Treating children as “property” with no rights
o “The justice of a master or father is different from that of a citizen; for a son or a slave is
property and there can be no injustice to one’s property.” — Aristotle
 Harsh physical discipline
o “If one beats a child until it bleeds then it will remember; but if one beats it to death, the
law applies.” — 13th-century saying
 Infanticide—the willful killing of a child—particularly of weak or “deformed” infants and of female
children
 Dubious child-rearing practices, such as swaddling for prolonged periods or early marriage of children
o “We went the next day into the town and to the house of the merchant and he said, ‘My
daughter is 13 years old and no longer a child and she is fit for marriage.’” — Pearl S.
Buck, The Good Earth

Some cultures honored and supported children by:

 Punishing the mistreatment or murder of children

 Opposing physical discipline
o “A loving parent’s hands should be as soft as feathers and not cast iron, and should not
break bones.” — Ghana
o “A whipped child loses courage and his soul withers and dwindles away until he dies.
For the soul of a child is a tender thing and easily hurt.” — Havasupai

Deeply embedded in the history of many industrialized societies, including the United States, were “antichild”
practices such as indentured servitude and child slavery, child labor in mines and factories, and boarding
schools and the Indian Adoption Project for Native American children (these practices helped encourage the
creation of the Indian Child Welfare Act that you will learn about later in this class).

An excerpt from Social Welfare Policy: Regulation and Resistance Among People of Color by Jerome H.
Schiele:

American Indian child-rearing practices and family system have been greatly and negatively impacted by
European conquest. The stated and unstated goals of this conquest were simple – disrupt American Indian
families and assimilate them into the dominant culture. For example, as early as 1860 boarding schools were
used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as a tool to civilize American Indian children by separating them
from their families and tribal communities and forcing them to learn and speak English and to adopt European
American practices and customs. Boarding schools, such as the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, went
so far as to publicize the motto, “Kill the Indian and save the man.” This systematic disruption brought about
the “institutional manifestation of the government’s determination to completely restructure the Indians’ minds
and personalities” (Adams, 1995, p. 97). Kunesh (1996) states that the close bonds of extended Indian families
were seen as obstacles that had to be removed. If parents did not agree to send their children to boarding
schools and assimilate to white society, the federal government took the children from their homes by force
(Mannes, 1995).

One of the more prominent federal regulations designed to regulate and control American Indian families
occurred in 1958, when the Indian Adoption Project was established by the BIA and the Child Welfare League
of America. This project was implemented “to provide adoptive placements for American Indian children
whose parents were deemed unable to provide a ‘suitable’ home for them” (Mannes, 1995, p. 267). States were
often paid by the BIA to remove Indian children from their homes under the charge of neglect (Kunesh, 1996).
Most of the children removed from their “unsuitable” environments were placed in non-Indian homes because
of the cultural bias and lack of suitable American Indian families available to care for Indian children.

Child-focused policies are relatively new.

 1899: First juvenile court (Chicago) placed dependent and delinquent children in homes for wayward
youth or reform schools
 1910: Development of X-ray technology, which eventually allowed doctors to detect subdural (under
the skin) injuries and untreated fractures
 1938: First legal rights of children – Fair Labor Standards Act imposed restrictions on working hours
and conditions
 1962: Dr. C. Henry Kempe created the diagnosis for battered child syndrome
 1965: Mandatory reporting laws in place in all states

Beginning in the 1970s, the United States Congress became aware (along with the rest of the nation) that the
child welfare system was not adequately protecting children and their families. From a historical perspective, it
can be said that we are still relatively new to the concepts of protecting abused and neglected children and
developing appropriate systems, methods, and programs to cope with the problems these children face.

Top

Federal Child Abuse & Neglect Laws

1974: Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)

Public Law 93-247, amended in 1996

CAPTA created the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and earmarked federal funds for states to
establish special programs for child victims of abuse or neglect.

This law requires that states:

 Have child abuse and neglect reporting laws

 Investigate reports of abuse and neglect
 Educate the public about abuse and neglect
 Provide a guardian ad litem to every abused or neglected child whose case results in a judicial
proceeding
 Maintain the confidentiality of child protective services records

1978: Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

Public Law 95-608

The history behind this law is explained in the Historical Treatment of Children section of this class.
  Recognizes that Indian children (the term used in the act) have special rights as members of sovereign
nations within the United States
 Responded to congressional hearings in the 1970s that revealed a pattern of public and private
removal of Indian children from their homes, undermining their families and threatening tribal
survival and Native American cultures
 Was designed to implement the federal government’s trust responsibility to the nations by protecting
and preserving the bond between Indian children and their tribe and culture
 Sets up placement preference schemes for foster care placements and adoptions of children who have
been determined to be Indian children
o 25 U.S.C. § 1915. Placement of Indian children - In any foster care or preadoptive
placement, a preference shall be given, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, to a
placement with (i) a member of the Indian child’s extended family; (ii) a foster home
licensed, approved, or specified by the Indian child’s tribe; (iii) an Indian foster home
licensed or approved by an authorized non-Indian licensing authority; or (iv) an
institution for children approved by an Indian tribe or operated by an Indian organization
which has a program suitable to meet the Indian child’s needs.
 Establishes the right of certain entities, including the tribe and the Indian custodian, if one exists, to
appear as parties to child welfare cases
 Determines when and if a case should be transferred to tribal court
 Describes rights of the Indian child and the child’s tribe

For CASA volunteers:

 Ask whether every child has Native heritage.

 Investigate tribal resources and services that can be of great benefit to the child.
 Be aware that jurisdiction can be transferred to the tribal court.
 Pay attention to the heritage and identity needs of the child.
 Remember that ASFA timelines (see next page) do not apply to Indian children.
 Keep in mind that ICWA takes precedence over other federal and state law.
1994: Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA)

The goals of this law are to:

 Decrease the time children wait to be adopted

 Prevent discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the placement of children and
in the selection of foster and adoptive placements
 Facilitate the development of a diverse pool of foster and adoptive families
1997: Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)

Public Law 105-89

This act embodies three key principles:

 The safety of children is the paramount concern.

 Foster care is a temporary setting and not a place for children to grow up.
 Permanency planning should begin as soon as the child enters foster care.

The act directs timelines within which the child welfare system operates:

 Requires permanency plan within 12 months

 Requires dispositional hearing within 12 months of placement
 Requires court reviews every six months
1997: Volunteer Protection Act

 Limits liability of volunteers when acting for nonprofit organizations or government entities

The Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) aims to promote volunteerism by limiting, and in many cases completely
eliminating, a volunteer's risk of tort liability. The VPA applies to an uncompensated volunteer for acts of
ordinary negligence committed within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities. Protection under the VPA
does not apply if the volunteer engages in willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless
misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual(s) harmed by the
volunteer.

If interested, you can read the full 1997 Volunteer Protection Act and learn more about the liability
protections and exceptions for volunteers: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-105publ19/pdf/PLAW-
105publ19.pdf
Extra Credit:

Learn about Texas state statutes around child abuse and neglect by searching the Child Welfare Information
Gateway: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/state/

Top

Principles That Guide Child Abuse & Neglect Laws and

Regulations

While states are responsible for the child protection function, federal laws and regulations shape delivery
though policies and funding.

Current federal regulations establish the policies for states when responding to child abuse and neglect:

 Children are first, and foremost, protected from abuse and neglect.
 Children are safely maintained in their homes whenever possible and appropriate.
  Children have permanency and stability in their living situations.
 The continuity of family relationships and connections is preserved for children.
 Families have enhanced capacity to provide for their children’s needs.
 Children receive appropriate services to meet their education needs.
 Children receive appropriate services to meet their physical and mental health needs.

From the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau.

Our values as individuals and as a society affect our response to children at risk. In crafting laws, legislators try
to strike a balance between competing values. You will consider these same values often as you advocate for
children.

Get to know these competing values and consider where your own
values fall by completing the following activity:

Reflection:

 Where did you initially rank your values?

 Did your value rankings change throughout different scenarios?
 How do you think your values will shape your advocacy? How might your advocacy influence the
values you currently hold?
 It is important to be aware of personal biases that can affect your advocacy. Did you identify any
biases that affected your answers?
 Keep in mind that judges and the law have to maintain a balance with regards to the competing values.
This could mean that at times when you as a CASA volunteer are representing the best interest of
child in court, judges may hear and appreciate you but be unable to incorporate your
recommendations because of the competing values that they are balancing.
 Also keep in mind that your value rankings may change over time. You might find yourself with a
completely different set of rankings after you finish your first case, and possibly even different after
your second depending on your experiences and what happens in each case. Your rankings may
change day to day and there is nothing wrong with that.
 It is important to check yourself and make sure your value rankings are always focused on the best
interest of the child as opposed to being guided by your own personal values or triggers.

Top
The Roles in a Child Welfare Court Case

Click each question to view the answer.

The Child
 Why is the child’s case in court?
o A petition has been filed alleging abuse or neglect.
 What does the child need during court intervention?
 The child needs the court to order an appropriate intervention and treatment plan so they can live in a
safe, stable home without ongoing need for intervention from the child protection agency.
 The child needs the court to address the areas of safety/protection, placement if the child is out of the
home, family contact, belonging to a family, financial support, a support system, education, mental
health, and physical health.
 The child needs the court intervention to be focused and timely.
 The child needs services provided that will meet his/her needs.

CASA Volunteer/Guardian ad Litem

 What does the CASA volunteer do in the case?
 Independently investigate the child’s case (not the original allegations of abuse, but the child’s
ongoing situation)
 Determine the child’s needs
 Explore family and community resources to meet the child’s needs
 Make recommendations to the court
 Advocate for the child
 Monitor the case
 Be the voice of what is in the child’s best interest
 Try to ensure the child’s expressed wishes are represented as well when they are in the child’s best
interest
o
 What does the CASA volunteer bring to the case?
 An interest in improving the life of the child through the court process
 Time, energy, and focus
  Longevity and consistency (The volunteer often stays on the case from beginning to end with a
minimum one-year commitment)
 An “outside the system” point of view and an independent perspective
 The community’s standard for the care and protection of its children

 When is the CASA volunteer involved in the case?
 CASA as an agency can be appointed as early as the ex parte hearing. A volunteer then becomes
involved as soon as one is available. This can be as early as a couple of weeks, but some children
never get assigned a volunteer during the duration of their case because we do not have enough
volunteers to serve every child in Travis County at this time.


Attorney for the Child/Attorney ad Litem

 What does the attorney for the child do in the case?
 Represent the child’s wishes
 Protect the child’s legal rights in court
 Advise the child on legal matters (if child is old enough)
 File legal documents relevant to the child’s case

 What does the attorney for the child bring to the case?
 Legal expertise, facilitation and negotiation skills, and courtroom experience

 When is the attorney for the child involved in the case?
 From the petition filing through the end of the court case

 What is the difference between the attorney ad litem and the
CASA volunteer's role as the guardian ad litem?
 The attorney ad litem represents the child's wants, while the CASA volunteer/guardian ad litem
represents what is in the child's best interest or what they need. For example, if a child tells their
attorney they want to eat ice cream every meal every day, the attorney has to represent that to the
court. The CASA volunteer can then tell the court that the child needs to have a well-rounded diet, not
entirely featuring ice cream, because they are representing the child's best interest. So keep that in
mind: what the child wants may not always be in their best interest, and that is the CASA volunteer's
job to represent.
 


Parents
 Why are the parents involved in the case?
 They have been forced into this court action because the child protection agency asked the court to
intervene to protect the child from maltreatment and/or to have their basic needs met.
 They need to comply with the child protection agency’s intervention plan and correct the conditions
that led to the child’s removal, thereby effectively protecting their child and/or enabling their child to
return home.
 They need to follow the orders of the court or risk having their parental rights terminated.

 What do the parents bring to the case?
 Love for the child; family ties; history of parenting; abilities, resources, and skills as parents;
interactions with the child and each other; mental, emotional, and physical health or illness; support
system; housing and income; and their own issues/problems


Attorney for the Parent

 What does the attorney for the parent do in the case?
 Represent the wishes of the parent/caretaker they represent
 Protect the legal rights of the parent/caretaker in court
 Advise the parent/caretaker on legal matters
 File legal documents relevant to the case

 What does the attorney for the parent bring to the case?
 Legal expertise, facilitation and negotiation skills, and courtroom experience

 When is the attorney for the parent involved in the case?
  From the petition filing through the end of the court case or whenever the court appoints them


Child Protective Services (CPS) Caseworker

 What is the role of the CPS caseworker in the case?
 The caseworker initiates the case by completing a risk assessment process and, based on risk and/or
substantiated allegations of abuse and/or neglect, determining the need for court intervention. The
caseworker petitions the court to intervene on the child’s behalf because:
o They have developed an intervention plan with the family, which has not resulted in
eliminating the risk that child maltreatment will recur, or
o Due to risk of imminent danger, they have removed the child from their home to ensure the
child’s safety.
 The caseworker petitions the court to order that the agency's intervention and treatment plan be
followed the parents and other service providers so that ensuring the child receives proper care and
protection does not require continuous agency intervention.
 The caseworker is responsible for managing the case and arranging for court-ordered services to be
provided to the child and the child’s family.

 What does the CPS caseworker bring to the case?
 Training in analyzing risk, assessing service needs, and providing guidance to families
 Direct services for families to provide them with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary for
change
 Links to other service providers so that the family can access resources outside the child protective
services system

 When is the CPS caseworker involved in the case?
 From the initial contact with the family and/or child until the case closes (CPS caseworkers will
change throughout the case as it transfers to different departments.)


Assistant District Attorney for Child Protective Services

 What does this attorney do in the case?
 Represent the position of Child Protective Services in court
  Protect Child Protective Services from liability
 Advise Child Protective Services regarding its responsibilities as outlined in the law
 File legal documents relevant to the case

 What does this attorney bring to the case?
 Legal expertise, facilitation and negotiation skills, and courtroom experience

 When is this attorney involved in the case?
 From the petition filing through the end of the case


Indian Child’s Tribe

 What does the Indian child’s tribe do in the case?
 What does the tribe bring to the case?

Judge
 What does the judge do in the case?
 Determine if there is a continued safety issue for the child that necessitates continued out-of-home
placement if the child has been removed from home
 Decide if the child meets the legal definition of abused or neglected and, if so, order services that will
address the needs of the child
 Order appropriate reviews
 Hear testimony, motions, etc., regarding the case
 Approve the permanent plan for the child
 Order termination of parental rights when appropriate
 Settle disputed adoption cases
 Close the court case when there is no longer a need for court intervention or the permanent plan has
been achieved
 File legal documents when it is necessary

 When is the judge involved in the case?
 From the request for emergency custody at the petition filing until the court case is closed (or, if the
child is not removed from home, from the arraignment or adjudication hearing, depending on
jurisdiction, until the court case is closed)
 

Top

Video: Child Protective Services Panel

As a CASA volunteer you could work on three different types of CPS cases that you will hear about in
the video:

Court Ordered Services (COS)

In COS cases, the state does not take legal custody of the child(ren). The parents maintain custody and the
child lives either with the parents or in a placement that the parents have approved (like a relative or symbolic
relative). The goal for these cases is Family Preservation, which means offering services that will address the
risk while hopefully keeping the family intact.

Temporary Managing Conservatorship (TMC)

In TMC cases, the state has taken temporary legal custody of the child(ren). The child will be placed in
substitute care with an approved relative or in a foster home, group home, residential treatment center (RTC),
or shelter. These cases have a one year deadline, during which time the safety issues must be addressed and the
parents must attempt to prove they are able to provide the minimum sufficient level of care for the child.

Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC)

In PMC cases, the state has taken permanent legal custody of the child(ren). This can happen with or without
the termination of parental rights. When parental rights have been terminated, the child is legally available for
adoption. When the parental rights have not been terminated, they state becomes responsible for that child until
they age out and they can end up in long-term foster care.

It is important to note that cases can go through more than one stage of service. For example, a case can begin
as a COS case and then if the parents do not follow through or the child is put in danger, CPS can remove the
child and open a TMC case. If this happens the caseworker will change when the unit changes. It is entirely
possible that you will work with caseworkers workers from multiple departments during your case.

As a CASA volunteer you will work with three different types of CPS caseworkers who you will meet in the
following video:
Family Based Safety Services - Lori Mims

This office works with CASA on Court Ordered Services cases.

Conservatorship - Chris Craft and Tesleigh Eure

This office works with CASA and has two units: one that works on TMC cases and one that works on PMC
cases in which rights have not been terminated.

Adoption - Allison McGill and Kendall Clark

This office works with CASA when a child is legally free for adoption after parental rights have been
terminated.

Video: Attorney Panel

As a CASA volunteer you will work with three main types of attorneys who you will meet in the following
video:

Assistant District Attorney (ADA) for Child Protective Services

 District Attorney's Office - Joan Peterson and Alicia Crowley, Assistant District
Attorneys
o The attorneys in this office represent CPS in cases where abuse has been
substantiated and the state has stepped in to keep children safe and offer
services to the family.

Attorney ad Litem – Attorney for the Child

The Attorney ad Litem represents what the child wants. Federal law dictates that every child who becomes
legally involved with CPS must be appointed an attorney to represent them.

 Office of Child Representation (OCR) - Leslie Hill, Managing Attorney

o This is a county office that employs attorneys, a paralegal, and a social worker.
All of these professionals work only to represent children who are involved
with the child welfare system.
 Children’s Rights Clinic (CRC) – Lori Duke, Supervising Attorney
 o This office, housed in the University of Texas School of Law, teaches law
students how to be an Attorney ad Litem. The CRC is run by two supervising
attorneys who train and oversee the law students on these cases.

Attorney for the Parents

 Office of Parent Representation (OPR) – Lori Kennedy, Managing Attorney

o This office provides court appointed attorneys for parents. OPR employs
attorneys, a paralegal and a social worker. The requirements for parents they
work with include being the primary parent on the case and qualifying as
indigent*.

Other Attorneys

 Court Appointed Family Advocate (CAFA) List - Not Represented in this Video
o This is a list of additional attorneys in Travis County who have agreed to take
cases representing either children or parents involved with the child welfare
system. They are required to obtain special training to work these cases, but
they often practice law in other areas as well. The secondary parent can be
appointed an attorney from the CAFA list if they qualify as indigent*, and if
OCR or CRC are unable to take a case, than an attorney from the CAFA list
may represent a child as well.

*If a parent does not qualify for a court appointed attorney because they are not indigent, they have the option
of hiring a private attorney for representation.

Substituted judgment – follow what the child wants unless it would constitute serious
injury (i.e. ill advised) or is too young to have a judgment

Send e-mail to attorney re. meeting with child/parents:

- Here is what we discussed

- Here is what I observed
- Here are some concerns
-
-
What were your biggest takeaways from the CPS and attorney videos?
The CPS attorneys may have different opinion on the case which is OK, we all need to keep in
mind we all ultimately have the child’s safety in mind. Acting professional and with respect at all
times is of utmost importance. Best way to contact attorneys is my e-mail and they will get back
as soon as possible, but they work 25-45 cases at a time and this can be challenging. Keeping
attorneys informed on the case is also very important.

-
- What were your biggest takeaways from the volunteer advocate video?

-
- What is significant about Mary Ellen’s story?

-
- Which law established the one-year deadline? Why is the one-year deadline
significant?