Children's Rights

Children's rights issues arise in many contexts, from their right to representation in abuse and neglect cases to their rights when charged with violating the law. Family law lawyers are often charged with advocating the best interests of the child, which can mean arguing for removal from the home to safeguard the child from harmful circumstances, or arguing for remaining in the home for rehabilitative purposes rather than removal for purposes of punishment. Children's rights encompass as broad a spectrum as those of adults, but are perhaps even more complicated because children are less able than adults to advocate their own interests.

The issue of juvenile rights in delinquency proceedings, or proceedings in which juveniles are charged with committing an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, has received considerable attention in recent years. Following several landmark United States Supreme Court decisions, many changes were made in the juvenile court system. As a result, children are now afforded greater due process protections, which include many of the same rights granted to adult offenders in the criminal court system, such as the rights to notice and a hearing, to confront witnesses, against self-incrimination, and to have an attorney. The juvenile court system differs from the adult system in at least one very critical respect, however: the focus of juvenile court is rehabilitation, whereas in adult court there is greater emphasis on punishment.

Children's due process rights are also at stake in the school context. Such rights raise questions about unreasonable searches and seizures, whether a child can be subjected to corporal punishment by a teacher or school administrator, and what rights are afforded to a child who has been suspended or expelled. These issues have even greater import, and the due process rights of some students may conflict more often with other students' right to be safe, as tragic incidents of school violence increase.

Despite many advances, children's rights are still often viewed as subordinate to those of adults. In the area of privacy rights, for example, the courts have recognized that the Constitution does protect children, but not to the same degree that it protects adults. This issue often arises with regard to sharing a child's medical information with his or her parents. The debate over whether to notify parents of a child's pregnancy, abortion, or other reproductive health information continues, and the resolution of these issues can vary from state to state.

Medical issues arise in another area of children's rights, which concerns their right to medical care in general. The state sometimes intervenes when a sick child's parents refuse to allow the child to have life-saving medical treatment (often for religious reasons). In this context, too, the debate continues over how aggressive the state should be in intervening in the parent-child relationship, the question being: how far do the parents' rights extend, and when do the child's rights take precedence?

Parents' rights clearly do not take precedence over those of their children when the parents are abusive or neglectful. In such cases, state or other local governmental agencies will step in, in a quasi-parental capacity to protect the children. The best interests of the children are always of paramount importance in these cases. Often, the court will appoint a guardian ad litem to advocate the child's best interests in court.

Children's rights encompass a broad spectrum of concerns, and a lawyer experienced in this area of the law can best advise the child and other interested parties on the legal issues involved.

Checklist: Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights

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Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights

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