NCJ Number
136196
Journal
Clearinghouse Review Dated: (January 1990) Pages: 1145-1153
Date Published
1990
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes major case law, legislation, and other developments during 1989 regarding children's rights.
Abstract
The case law and legislation reviewed pertains to the duty of the State to protect children from harm, abuse and neglect proceedings, foster care's preventive and reunification services, juvenile justice, fair housing law for families with children, and children with health problems. During the year, the U.S. Supreme Court held that children not in the custody of the State do not have a constitutional claim against social workers for failing to protect them from abuse by their parents. The Court also declined to extend its 1988 juvenile death penalty case, in which it held that the U.S. Constitution does not permit the execution of a person who was 15 years old at the time of the crime, to persons who were 16 and 17 years old at the time of the crime. In the area of foster care, State and Federal courts continued to require protective service agencies to comply with the reasonable-efforts requirements of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 and State laws that implement the Act. In the area of housing, final rules were adopted for the implementation of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, which prohibits housing discrimination against families with children. Other significant developments during the year in Medicaid, SSI, education law, and social services affect access to health care and other essential services for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities, including AIDS. 109 footnotes