Children on the Streets of Ibadan Nigeria: Neglect of Children's Rights.

BACKGROUND: The Nigerian Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 2008 enacted prohibitive laws against child streetism. However, in metropolises like Ibadan, there is a growing epidemic of street children, particularly the category with existing family ties known as "children on the streets". Children on the street come from home daily to engage in economic-oriented activities on the streets and return home to their families at night time. OBJECTIVE: We focused on perceptions of formal responses to the problem of child streetism in Ibadan. METHODS: This was qualitative research. Participants were selected from each of the five urban LGA of Ibadan, purposively and by snowball technique. In-depth Interviews (IDI) were conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed. Framework analysis of data was supported by ATLASTi version 22. RESULTS: Fifty-three (53) interviews were conducted including IDI with ten (10) child-welfare officers, ten (10) street shop owners, eleven (11) children on the street, and ten (10) pairs of parent-child dyads. Two themes emerged including governmental shortcomings with six subthemes and suboptimal governmental interventions with four subthemes. Child streetism in Ibadan is a consequence of the State's failed education systems, inadequate children's vocational and rehabilitation programs, lax child welfare laws, lack of empowerment of skilled children, and poor implementation of the policy on ideal family size. Interventions that were existing but sub-optimal included communitybased child welfare programs, parental poverty alleviation, public sensitisation and child welfare monitoring programmes. CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need to update, enforce laws, and amalgamate efforts against child streetism in Ibadan.

CONTEXTE: La Convention nigériane relative aux droits de l'enfant (CRC) de 2008 a promulgué des lois interdisant le travail des enfants dans la rue. Cependant, dans des métropoles comme Ibadan, il existe une épidémie croissante d'enfants des rues, en particulier la catégorie ayant des liens familiaux existants connue sous le nom d'"enfants des rues". Les enfants des rues viennent de chez eux tous les jours pour participer à des activités orientées vers l'économie dans les rues et rentrent chez eux auprès de leurs familles le soir. OBJECTIF: Nous nous sommes concentrés sur les perceptions des réponses formelles au problème du travail des enfants dans la rue à Ibadan. MÉTHODES: Il s'agissait d'une recherche qualitative. Les participants ont été sélectionnés dans chacun des cinq LGA urbains d'Ibadan, de manière délibérée et par la technique de la boule de neige. Des entretiens approfondis (IDI) ont été réalisés, enregistrés et retranscrits. L'analyse thématique des données a été soutenue par ATLAS-Ti version 22. RÉSULTATS: Cinquante-trois (53) entretiens ont été menés, comprenant des IDI avec dix (10) agents de protection de l'enfance, dix (10) propriétaires de magasins de rue, onze (11) enfants des rues et dix (10) paires de dyades parent-enfant. Deux thèmes ont émergé, comprenant des lacunes gouvernementales avec six sous-thèmes et des interventions gouvernementales suboptimales avec quatre sous-thèmes. Le travail des enfants dans la rue à Ibadan est une conséquence des systèmes éducatifs défaillants de l'État, des programmes de formation et de réadaptation insuffisants pour les enfants, des lois laxistes sur la protection de l'enfance, du manque d'autonomisation des enfants qualifiés et de la mauvaise mise en œuvre de la politique sur la taille idéale de la famille. Les interventions existantes mais suboptimales comprenaient des programmes communautaires de protection de l'enfance, l'alleviation de la pauvreté des parents, la sensibilisation du public et les programmes de suivi de la protection de l'enfance. CONCLUSION: Il est urgent de mettre à jour, d'appliquer les lois et de regrouper les efforts contre le travail des enfants dans la rue à Ibadan. MOTS-CLÉS: Travail des enfants dans la rue, Protection sociale, Droits de l'enfant, Lois, Famille.

Development and Implementation of State and Federal Child Welfare Laws Related to Drug Use in Pregnancy.

Policy Points Over the past several decades, states have adopted policies intended to address prenatal drug use. Many of these policies have utilized existing child welfare mechanisms despite potential adverse effects. Recent federal policy changes were intended to facilitate care for substance-exposed infants and their families, but state uptake has been incomplete. Using legal mapping and qualitative interviews, we examine the development of state child welfare laws related to substance use in pregnancy from 1974 to 2019, with a particular focus on laws adopted between 2009 and 2019. Our findings reveal policies that may disincentivize treatment-seeking and widespread implementation challenges, suggesting a need for new treatment-oriented policies and refined state and federal guidance. CONTEXT: Amid increasing drug use among pregnant individuals, legislators have pursued policies intended to reduce substance use during pregnancy. Many states have utilized child welfare mechanisms despite evidence that these policies might disincentivize treatment-seeking. Recent federal changes were intended to facilitate care for substance-exposed infants and their families, but implementation of these changes at the state level has been slowed and complicated by existing state policies. We seek to provide a timeline of state child welfare laws related to prenatal drug use and describe stakeholder perceptions of implementation. METHODS: We catalogued child welfare laws related to prenatal drug use, including laws that defined child abuse and neglect and established child welfare reporting standards, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC), from 1974 to 2019. In the 19 states that changed relevant laws between 2009 and 2019, qualitative interviews were conducted with stakeholders to capture state-level perspectives on policy implementation. FINDINGS: Twenty-four states and DC have passed laws classifying prenatal drug use as child abuse or neglect. Thirty-seven states and DC mandate reporting of suspected prenatal drug use to the state. Qualitative findings suggested variation in implementation within and across states between 2009 and 2019 and revealed that implementation of changes to federal law during that decade, intended to encourage states to provide comprehensive social services and linkages to evidence-based care to drug-exposed infants and their families, has been complicated by existing policies and a lack of guidance for practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: Many states have enacted laws that may disincentivize treatment-seeking among pregnant people who use drugs and lead to family separation. To craft effective state laws and support their implementation, state policymakers and practitioners could benefit from a treatment-oriented approach to prenatal substance use and additional state and federal guidance.

Forcible Displacement, Migration, and Violence Against Children and Families in Latin America.

In Latin America, violence is a major public health issue causing many families to flee to the United States to seek safety. Current US immigration policies fail to address why families are forced to depart their home country or the needs of families once arriving in the United States. This article identifies root causes of family displacement, examines the insufficient protections for children in families during US immigration processing, and provides practice and policy recommendations on how to transform the US immigration system so that it is more humane for children and families forcibly displaced by violence.

[Legal Aspects of Child Protection]. / Rechtliche Aspekte im Kinderschutz.

Legal Aspects of Child Protection Several legal codes (e. g. family, social and criminal law) are of importance in child protection cases in Germany. The intention of legal codes differs between family law (relations between family members), social law (support for families) and criminal law (penal aspects). Mental health professionals have to know the prevailing legal norms concerning child-welfare. Collaborative work between medicine and youth welfare and child protection services (CPS) requires a weighing of data protection issues and the risk for the child. German child protection law provides a stepped model for health care professionals to inform CPS. This includes a careful weighing of the risk for child abuse and own competences to provide support. Medical personnel should be aware of several further legislative regulations concerning child protection issues.

Surrogacy and "Procreative Tourism". What Does the Future Hold from the Ethical and Legal Perspectives?

Background and objectives: To explore the ethical and legal complexities arising from the controversial issue of surrogacy, particularly in terms of how they affect fundamental rights of children and parents. Surrogacy is a form of medically-assisted procreation (MAP) in which a woman "lends" her uterus to carry out a pregnancy on behalf of a third party. There are pathological conditions, such as uterine agenesis or hysterectomy outcomes, that may prevent prospective mothers from becoming pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term; such patients may consider finding a surrogate mother. Many issues relating to surrogacy remain unresolved, with significant disagreements and controversy within the scientific community and public opinion. There are several factors called into play and multiple parties and stakeholders whose objectives and interests need to somehow be reconciled. First and foremost, the authors contend, it is essential to prioritize and uphold the rights of children born through surrogacy and heterologous MAP. Materials and methods: To draw a parallel between Italy and the rest of the world, the legislation in force in twelve European countries was analyzed, eleven of which are part of the European Union (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Portugal) and three non-members of the same (United Kingdom, Ukraine and Russia), as well as that of twelve non-European countries considered exemplary (United States, Canada, Australia, India, China, Thailand, Israel, Nigeria and South Africa); in particular, legislative sources and legal databases were drawn upon, in order to draw a comparison with the Italian legislation currently in force and map out the evolution of the Italian case law on the basis of the judgments issued by Italian courts, including the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR); search engines such as PubMed and Google Scholar were also used, by entering the keywords "surrogacy" and "surrogate motherhood", to find scientific articles concerning assisted reproduction techniques with a close focus on surrogacy. Results: SM is a prohibited and sanctioned practice in Italy; on the other hand, it is allowed in other countries of the world, which leads Italian couples, or couples from other countries where it is banned, to often contact foreign centers in order to undertake a MAP pathway which includes surrogacy; in addition, challenges may arise from the legal status of children born through surrogacy abroad: to date, in most countries, there is no specific legislation aimed at regulating their legal registration and parental status. Conclusion: With reference to the Italian context, despite the scientific and legal evolution on the subject, a legislative intervention aimed at filling the regulatory gaps in terms of heterologous MAP and surrogacy has not yet come to fruition. Considering the possibility of "fertility tourism", i.e., traveling to countries where the practice is legal, as indeed already happens in a relatively significant number of cases, the current legislation, although integrated by the legal interpretation, does not appear to be effective in avoiding the phenomenon of procreative tourism. Moreover, to overcome some contradictions currently present between law 40 and law 194, it would be appropriate to outline an organic and exhaustive framework of rules, which should take into account the multiplicity of interests at stake, in keeping with a fair and sustainable balance when regulating such practices.

Diretrizes brasileiras e portuguesas de proteção à criança vulnerável à violência na pandemia de COVID-19 / Brazilian and Portuguese guidelines for protecting vulnerable children against violence in the COVID-19 pandemic / Directrices brasileñas y portuguesas para la protección de los niños vulnerables a la violencia en la pandemia del COVID-19

Objetivo: identificar e analisar medidas de proteção à criança/adolescente vulnerável à violência na epidemia de COVID-19 no Brasil e em Portugal. Método: implementou-se a pesquisa documental de diretrizes governamentais expedidas entre março e setembro de 2020. A análise hermenêutica fundamentou-se nos preceitos da vulnerabilidade em saúde e da defesa do melhor interesse de crianças/adolescentes. Resultados: recomendaram-se ações articuladas de apoio e parcerias nacionais, locais e interinstitucionais; atuação multiprofissional, intra/intersetorial como medidas de proteção à criança/adolescente vulneráveis à violência intrafamiliar. Destacam-se o estímulo a notificação, investigação, intervenção e acompanhamento de casos. Constatam­se investimentos dos países na ampliação de canais de teleatendimento e estímulo à denúncias pela sociedade e redes sociais. Contudo, há indícios de poucos registros de casos, justificado pelas campanhas publicitárias em Portugal que incentivaram denúncias aos órgãos responsáveis. A proteção à renda e ao trabalho dos provedores da família durante o isolamento social e momento de suspensão das aulas presenciais teve a intenção de protegê-los da insegurança alimentar e do contágio da doença. Conclusão: documentos determinaram ações para instituições, profissionais de saúde, familiares e sociedade no enfrentamento da violência intrafamiliar. Na pandemia de COVID-19, é dever do Estado seguir protegendo o direito à vida e à dignidade da criança e adolescente

Objective: To identify and analyze the protection measures for children/adolescent vulnerable to violence during the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil and Portugal. Method: This documentary research of government guidelines issued between March and September 2020 was carried out. The hermeneutic analysis was based on the principles of health vulnerability of children/ adolescents. Results: Articulated support actions and partnerships were recommended at the national, local, and interinstitutional levels. A multi-professional intersectoral action was the most recommended measure to protect those children/adolescents more vulnerable to intrafamily violence. Noteworthy are the stimulus warning, investigation, intervention, and monitoring notified cases. In addition, countries' efforts were invested in expanding the call center channels and encouraging notification violence by society members and social networks. However, few cases were notified justified by advertising campaigns in Portugal that encouraged reporting to the responsible childhood agencies. The protection of family providers' income and work during social isolation and suspension of face­to-face classes were intended to protect them from food safety and contagious disease. Conclusion: Official documents determined actions for institutions, health professionals, family members, and society to face intrafamily violence. Regarding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the family nucleus, the State must continue protecting children's and adolescents' rights to life and dignity

Objetivo: identificar y analizar medidas de protección para niños/adolescentes vulnerables a la violencia durante la epidemia del COVID-19 en Brasil y Portugal. Método: se realizó una investigación documental de las directrices gubernamentales emitidas entre marzo y septiembre de 2020. El análisis hermenéutico se basó en los principios de vulnerabilidad en salud en la niñez y la adolescencia. Resultados: se recomendaron acciones de apoyo articuladas y alianzas nacionales, locales e interinstitucionales; acción multiprofesional, intra e intersectorial como medida de protección para niños, niñas y adolescentes vulnerables a la violencia intrafamiliar. Destacan el fomento de la notificación, investigación, intervención y seguimiento de los casos. Hay esfuerzos de ambos países que invertirán en la expansión de los call center y fomentarán las quejas de los miembros de la sociedad y las redes sociales. Sin embargo, hay indicios de pocos casos denunciados, justificados por campañas publicitarias (especialmente en Portugal) que alentaron las denuncias a los órganos responsables. La protección de los ingresos y el trabajo de los proveedores familiares, durante el aislamiento social y en el momento de la suspensión de las clases presenciales tuve la intención de protegerlos del seguridad alimentar y del contagio de la enfermedad. Conclusión: documentos emitidos acciones específicas para instituciones, profesionales de la salud, familiares y sociedad en el abordaje de la violencia intrafamiliar. En la pandemia del COVID-19, es deber del Estado continuar protegiendo el derecho a la vida y la dignidad de los niños, niñas y adolescentes

When Does A Minor's Legal Competence To Make Health Care Decisions Matter?

In this article, I examine the role of minors' competence for medical decision-making in modern American law. The doctrine of parental consent remains the default legal and bioethical framework for health care decisions on behalf of children, complemented by a complex array of exceptions. Some of those exceptions vest decisional authority in the minors themselves. Yet, in American law, judgments of minors' competence do not typically trigger shifts in decision-making authority from adults to minors. Rather, minors' decisional capacity becomes relevant only after legislatures or courts determine that the default of parental discretion does not achieve important policy goals or protect implicated constitutional rights in a particular health care context and that those goals can best be achieved or rights best protected by authorizing capable minors to choose for themselves. It is at that point that psychological and neuroscientific evidence plays an important role in informing the legal inquiry as to whether minors whose health is at issue are legally competent to decide.

Variation in States' Implementation of CAPTA's Substance-Exposed Infants Mandates: A Policy Diffusion Analysis.

In 2016, federal law changed state child welfare mandates related to prenatally substance-exposed infants. Little is known regarding the status or implications of policy implementation. The current study examined thematic clusters among states' policies responsive to this 2016 mandate. Cluster analysis identified four distinct categories of states' implementation: (1) "innovators/early adopters," (2) "early majority," (3) "late majority," and (4) "laggards." Innovator/early adopter states (n = 14) were most likely to have implemented plan of safe care policies consistent with Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Early majority states (n = 15) have started developing some aspects of CAPTA 2016 but have some aspects that are still in development. Late majority states (n = 17) have adopted few aspects of CAPTA 2016 but had implemented more CAPTA 2003 and 2010 aspects than states in the laggard cluster. Laggard states (n = 6) have implemented the fewest CAPTA prenatal substance exposure domains. In bivariate analyses, the only variable associated with clusters was Census region (e.g., New England), suggesting that states' implementation decisions may be influenced by their regional neighbors.

Association Between State-Level Criminal Justice-Focused Prenatal Substance Use Policies in the US and Substance Use-Related Foster Care Admissions and Family Reunification.

Importance: States have enacted criminal justice-related substance use policies to address prenatal substance use and protect infants from adverse health effects of parental substance use. However, little is known about the consequences of these policies for permanency outcomes among infants in the foster care system in the United States. Objectives: To evaluate the consequences of criminal justice-related prenatal substance use policies for family reunification and to examine differences in parental reunification by racial/ethnic group. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study using data from the 2005 to 2017 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 13 cohorts of infants who entered the foster care system were followed up. States with criminal justice-related prenatal substance use policies were compared with states without such policies before and after their enactment using a discrete-time hazard model adjusted for individual covariates, state, and cohort fixed effects. The sample consisted of 350 604 infants 1 year or younger who had been removed from their home because of parental drug or alcohol use. Main Outcomes and Measures: Length of time from entering the child welfare system to first reunification with a parent and hazard rates (HRs). Results: Of the 350 604 infants 1 year or younger, 182 314 (52%) were boys, 251 572 (72%) were non-Hispanic white children, and 160 927 (46%) lived in US states with a criminal justice-focused prenatal substance use policy. Among those who were reunified, 36% of the reunifications occurred during the first year and 45% in the second year. Foster care infants who were removed from their homes because of parental substance use who live in states that have adopted criminal justice-oriented policies had a lower chance of reunification with a parent compared with states that have not adopted those policies (HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.94-0.96). Specifically, non-Hispanic black children who live in a state that has adopted criminal justice-oriented policies had a lower chance of reunification with a parent than non-Hispanic black children who live in a state that has not adopted those policies (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81-0.94). Conclusions and Relevance: Given the child welfare system's legal mandate to make every effort toward parental reunification, a more comprehensive treatment and supportive policy approach toward parental substance use might be warranted.

Child's Play or Sexual Abuse? Reviewing the Efficacy of the Justice Framework in Dealing with Child on Child Sexual Abuse in the United Kingdom.

This literature review appraises how the justice system of the United Kingdom deals with child on child sexual abuse allegations. It is crucial to consider the impact of minor sexual abuse within the community. Sensationalized reporting of sex crimes demonizes offenders and unintentionally hides some perpetrators by not representing children can cause harm. Cases where children demonstrate sexual agency are confusing and uncomfortable to appropriate blame. A freedom of information request to the Metropolitan Police uncovered 5,500 minor sex abuse allegations in England and Wales between 2011 and 2014, including, 4,000 physical assaults and 600 rape allegations. Officials caution these figures only represent a small proportion of known sexual abuse cases but the full extent of the problem is yet to be seen. Children are being exposed to explicit imagery far beyond their developmental age causing a blurring of the lines between normal sexual curiosity, harmful behavior, sexual deviance, and abuse. Evidence suggests societal failings and technological advances have created vulnerabilities from which new and dangerous sexual norms have evolved. Therefore, this paper reviews the justice, welfare, and restorative justice frameworks to explore the efficacy of the justice system in dealing with child on child sexual abuse in the UK.

Thirty years of the convention on the rights of the child: Developments in child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Since its adoption by the United Nations in November 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has become the most universally ratified human rights treaty in history; presently only the United States has not ratified it. The CRC articulates children's human rights and notably includes freedom from sexual abuse and exploitation. Yet thirty years after the Convention was adopted, child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E) remain serious, persistent, and evolving global issues. This overview both describes the current state of research on child sexual abuse and exploitation and evaluates the CRC's legacy in terms of State-level responses to CSA/E. Points of agreement and disagreement over what constitutes CSA/E and how widespread it is are explored. Also presented are the contexts in which CSA/E takes place, and factors associated with children's risk of being sexually abused or exploited. Emerging issues in these areas are the internet and children's use of it, as children may now become subject to abuse or exploitation even when physically alone. The second part of the paper addresses the CRC's influence on States' domestic legislation and States' responses to CSA/E more broadly. Gaps in efforts to monitor and report on the CRC's implementation with respect to its impact on CSA/E are described. The discussion offers guidance for future efforts to research and respond to child sexual abuse and exploitation, and in particular the ongoing need for support to survivors beyond the legal response paradigm.

Protective and Supportive Injunctions for Children Exposed to Sexual Abuse: The First Data from Turkey.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) requires multidisciplinary approach by forensic, social, and medical services, thus Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) have been established to evaluate CSA cases in Turkey. At CACs the social needs of children are assessed by social workers. Protective and supportive injunctions (PSIs) are considered at each step of evaluation and are proposed to child courts. This study aimed to evaluate PSIs at a local CAC, which is one of the leading CACs in Turkey. The study group consisted of children and adolescents exposed to CSA admitted to Izmir CAC between April 2014 and April 2015. Socio-demographic characteristics, social investigation reports, psychiatric reports, and proposed PSIs were evaluated. The rate of social investigation necessity was 28.3% (n = 113), and the rate of being proposed for at least one PSI was 24.3% (n = 97). The most common proposed injunctions were maintenance care injunctions (n = 47; 48%) and counseling injunctions (n = 46; 47%). The rate of proposed PSIs was significantly higher in adolescents, incest cases and abuse types including penetration than in the other groups. This is the first study to evaluate PSIs in the child protection system. Our results provide data about the risk groups that need PSIs among the victims of CSA cases.

Worker Perceptions of the Multi-Agency Investigation & Support Team (MIST): A Process Evaluation of a Cross-Agency Response to Severe Child Abuse.

The Multi-agency Investigation & Support Team (MIST) was a new approach to abuse investigations that aimed to minimize the distress and uncertainty experienced by children and non-abusive caregivers in dealing with the many agencies typically involved in a case post-disclosure, while also attempting to improve the accessibility of supportive and therapeutic services. As part of a broader evaluation, this study examined worker perceptions early in the implementation of this new approach. Thirty-three (33) interviews were conducted with workers affected by this new pilot. The interviews identified almost exclusively positive perceptions of the changes relative to practice as usual, particularly in terms of improvements to collaboration and communication across agencies, and the benefits of providing support alongside the investigation process. Some areas of difficulty and areas for improvement were identified, particularly the need for stronger governance of the cross-agency protocol and improved connection to some of the groups involved in the response that were not co-located. The study suggests professionals working in the MIST model consider the model beneficial to the quality of the response to severe child abuse while highlighting that the process of change into this new way of working was challenging at times.

State Lawmaker's Views on Childhood Obesity and Related School Wellness Legislation.

BACKGROUND: School wellness legislation has potential to impact the health of children and alter the obesity crisis in the United Sates. Little is known about how state lawmakers perceive child wellness legislation effectiveness relative to obesity prevention. Our purpose was to understand state lawmakers' perceptions of childhood obesity and school wellness policies relative to the Social Ecological Model (SEM). METHODS: Twenty-one state representatives and nine state senators from one US state completed in-depth interviews. Member checks and peer debriefing occurred throughout data collection and analysis. Transcripts were coded and triangulated. A conventional content analysis generated consistent themes. RESULTS: Five main themes developed: (1) child overweight and obesity is problematic; (2) current legislation is ineffective; (3) funding and enforcing child wellness legislation is difficult; (4) it is difficult to legislate personal behavior; and (5) efforts from other levels of the SEM are more effective at promoting wellness. CONCLUSIONS: Lawmakers understand negative impacts of child obesity, but perceive immediate legislative issues like budgetary concerns inhibit robust policy-oriented action. Participants believe parents, guardians, and individuals should ultimately be responsible for child wellness. Community, school, and family efforts to address childhood obesity and support wellness may be more effective in achieving positive outcomes than state and federal policy.