Caregiver Liability: When Kids Run from Foster Care

By Guest Contributor, Daniel Pollack   |   February 12th, 2011

The National Runaway Switchboard reports that between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away each year. It also reports that there has been “a significant increase in the number of crisis calls identifying abuse or neglect as a reason for the call, with abuse calls up 33 percent and neglect calls up 54 percent between 2005-2008″ (National Runaway Switchboard Crisis Caller Trends, 2009, p. 2).

Youth in out-of-home care often choose conduct that does not ensure their own safety. They elope from foster homes, group homes, or other residential settings at an unknown rate. When children are known risks for eloping a court may find that it is the legal duty of the caregiver to take all prudent means to take appropriate preventative measures.

Instinctively, we are aware of the links between youths running away in general and youths eloping from out-of-home care. Social science research has made significant progress in describing runaway youth in general (Martinez, 2006; Sanchez, Waller, & Greene, 2006), but has made minimal inroads in accurately describing the phenomenon of youth eloping from out-of-home care.  … View Full Article → “Caregiver Liability: When Kids Run from Foster Care”

Highlights of the 2010 Tax Relief Act

By Joseph E. Balmer   |   February 5th, 2011

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, signed into law December 2010, finally brought some certainty to estate tax, gift and generation skipping tax, at least temporarily.  Although estate planning attorneys now have a better idea as to advising clients in wealth management opportunities, the new law only applies through December 31, 2012. Thus, we may find ourselves back in this position of uncertainty in two years.  Some of the major aspects of the Act are summarized below:

  • Estate tax exemptions and estate tax rates: Under President Bush’s Tax Relief Act of 2001, the federal estate tax exemption had increased to $3.5 million dollars in 2009, was unlimited in 2010, and was set to fall all the way back down to $1.0 million dollars in 2011.  This problem was solved for the short term by setting the exemption at $5.0 million dollars for 2011 and 2012.  
… View Full Article → “Highlights of the 2010 Tax Relief Act”

A Good Divorce Therapist is Critical to Your Emotional Health!

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   January 29th, 2011

For most people going through a divorce, there is no substitute for having a neutral professional by their side who is trained to listen and discuss the emotional issues relevant to a divorce.  The emotions many encounter are similar to dealing with a death or loss of a loved one.  Therapists may refer to the stages of emotion by differing names, but they are: shock, denial, anger, sadness, and finally, acceptance.

In my practice I discuss counseling with virtually every new divorce client I meet.  Many clients going through a divorce feel like their life has been completely turned upside down.  Even if the individual has some sort of a “support network”, this is usually not an adequate substitute for having a good therapist. Most friends or family members are not trained or equipped to provide objective professional guidance and steady you through the divorce process, which often can turn into a very long marathon.… View Full Article → “A Good Divorce Therapist is Critical to Your Emotional Health!”

Potential Civil Liability for Unauthorized Access to Another’s Email Account

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   January 22nd, 2011

I am not an Internet or cyberlaw expert by any stretch of the imagination. But I am not alone in that regard according to an interesting Associated Press. story that Judges on the nation’s top court are handicapped by a lack of knowledge about the Internet when deciding related cases–Justice Stephen G. Breyer, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, admits. If you have a minute, click on the link in blue to read some pretty humorous exchanges from the Justices when discussing technology related issues.

Without trying to grapple with all the subtle nuances on this subject, I do think it is important to make people aware that there are potential legal ramifications for anyone who enters another’s email account without permission and prints or downloads stored emails. There are two portions of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA): the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act (SCA). Title I of the ECPA, the Wiretap Act, prohibits interception of communication in certain instances.… View Full Article → “Potential Civil Liability for Unauthorized Access to Another’s Email Account”

Non-Payment of Child Support May Result in Denial of a Passport

By Robert "Chip" Mues   |   January 15th, 2011

Most people don’t realize that if you have a child support arrearage of more than $2,500 that you are NOT eligible for either a renewal or the issuance of a U.S. passport.  Also, be aware that there is no guarantee that even if your arrearage balance is below $2,500 that you will be allowed to obtain a passport because you are still in arrears. Many people who had intended to travel abroad have learned about this restriction the hard way and ended up having their plans aborted by a passport denial. Think about the implications if, for example, you were planning on getting married overseas and the passport request is denied.

To learn more, click here to go to the U.S. State Department’s Travel Abroad website to read about the mandatory process that must be undertaken before any passport application will be processed. You need to make arrangements to pay the State Support Enforcement Agency where child support is owed BEFORE you submit your application for a U.S.… View Full Article → “Non-Payment of Child Support May Result in Denial of a Passport”

Child Abuse Investigations: Good, Bad or Ugly?

By John C. Meehling   |   January 8th, 2011

Most of us are familiar with Child Protective Services, or CPS.  CPS, or an agency with a similar name, is the agency in each state that has assumed the task of protecting our kids from abuse or neglect by adults, especially their own parents. A recent study explained in the October 2010 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests that child abuse investigations do not significantly reduce risk for future violence or abuse.  In fact, the study links investigations to increased depression in mothers.  The results have given ammunition to many who had already been calling for a drastic scaling back of CPS and the many millions of dollars that Congress and state legislatures annually direct towards CPS.

Congress passed the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act in 1974 because of concerns about battered children.  That Act was also designed to encourage more thorough and accurate reporting and record-keeping in child abuse cases.  … View Full Article → “Child Abuse Investigations: Good, Bad or Ugly?”

Can a Spouse Obtain a Civil Protection Order for Verbal Abuse?

By Anne Shale   |   January 1st, 2011

The topic for this particular article concerns Ohio’s Domestic Violence Statute which is O.R.C. Section 3113.31.  In it “domestic violence” is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following acts against a family or household member:

  • Attempting to cause or recklessly causing bodily injury.
  • Placing another person by threat of force in fear of imminent serious physical harm or committing a violation of section 2903.311 (menacing by stalking) or section 2911.211 (aggravated trespass) of the Ohio Revised Code.
  • Committing any act with respect to a child that would result in the child being an abused child, as defined in section 2151.031 of the Ohio Revised Code.
  • Committing a sexually oriented offense as defined in section 2950.01 of the Ohio Revised Code.

Some readers may be wondering, “what is a Civil Protection Order?”  A Civil Protection Order (CPO) is an Order that can be granted by a Court upon hearing a petition alleging domestic violence.  … View Full Article → “Can a Spouse Obtain a Civil Protection Order for Verbal Abuse?”

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