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Disaster Planning Child Welfare Law Issues
About the Project
The ABA Center on
Children and the Law, working with our partners the National Council
of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Center for State
Courts, continues to work on aiding legal and judicial system responses
to the needs of children and families affected by future disasters
(like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005).
Our responses in 2005 and 2006 centered around three areas of assistance:
1. Determining and Helping Meet the More Immediate Needs of Dependency
Courts and Child Welfare Legal Offices in the Hurricane-Affected Areas
2. Helping Serve the Legal Needs of Katrina-Affected Children and
Families Through Provision of Pro Bono Child Welfare Law Experts
3. Studying Child Welfare Legal Issues Affecting Children and Families
in Katrina-Like Disasters, Including Needed State and Federal Legislative
Responses
Links to Our Partners' Disaster-Related Web pages:
- National Center for State Courts
- National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- The National Center for State Courts has produced, in collaboration with this ABA Center on Children and the Law project, “Emergency Preparedness in Dependency Courts: Ten Questions that Courts Serving Abused and Neglected Children Must Answer.”
Planning for Emergencies: Immediate Events and Their Aftermath-A Guideline for Local Courts
Click here to download the November 2005 document published by The Justice Programs Office, School of Public Affairs, and the American University. It was developed under a grant from the State Justice Institute.
Getting Pro Bono Legal Help to Disaster-Affected Children and Families
Click
here to access the American Bar Association website where
attorneys can sign up to volunteer to provide disaster-related legal
assistance. In 2005 several hundred "Child Welfare Law"
experts signed up to be available for legal help. We urge lawyers
reading this to do likewise. Legal help will undoubtedly be needed
for future disaster-displaced children, parents, foster parents, kinship
care providers, etc. throughout the country.
Information on attorneys who sign up will be shared with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local pro bono projects in the
affected areas, and the state and local bars of affected states as
their needs become known.
We will also be developing materials that may be useful to attorneys
who volunteer their time to help with child welfare legal problems
facing disaster-affected children and families, and any lawyers who
are called upon to aid should not hesitate to contact us at ctrchildlaw@abanet.org
What Legal and Court System Issues/Needs Were Raised by Katrina
In 2005 and 2006 we examined and addressed some complex legal issues raised
by disasters/emergencies like Katrina. We continue to want to hear from
folks on, and even give you a chance to share thoughts about, law and court
related issues related to Katrina and other disasters affecting large numbers
of children involved in the child welfare system.
Please e-mail us with those thoughts at: ctrchildlaw@abanet.org
We developed a needs assessment tool that we sued to help identify legal
and judicial system needs specifically related to the effects of Hurricane
Katrina, but this could be applicable to future disasters as well, with
regard to child welfare cases (i.e., cases involving abused and neglected
children and children in foster care, as well as children at immediate risk
of entering the child protection system).
Child/Family Needs Related to Disasters Materials and Resources
School Access for Relocated Children
Information Available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- The Administration for Children and Families
- HHS Declares Public Health Emergency for Hurricane Katrina
- Hurricane Impact and Response for Children and Families
Katrina Response Information from the Child Welfare League of America
Foster Care or Adoptive Families for Katrina-Affected Children
National Foster Parent Association
Help for Traumatized Children and Families
- Children, Families and Workers: Facing Trauma in Child Welfare
- Medicare, Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs
- Emergency Guidelines for Helping Katrina Victims
Publications
- Know the Rules Safety Tips for Children Displaced in Natural Disasters and Their Caregivers
- Psychosocial Implications of Disaster or Terrorism on Children: A Guide for the Pediatrician
- Coping with Disasters and Strengthening Systems: A Framework for Child Welfare Agencies
- Intercountry Adoption in Emergencies: The Tsunami Orphans
- Trauma Experienced by Children Adopted From Abroad
- Changes in Reports and Incidence of Child Abuse Following Natural Disasters
