Legal Rights of Children

Legal Rights of Children is a part of a series of General Counsel Law Notes written with the support of the NASW Legal Defense Fund. This Law Note highlights the various approaches taken by states concerning how the legal status and age of a child affect the right to sue, the right to make treatment decisions concerning the child's care, the right to contract, the right to educational services, and the right to be free from abuse and neglect. The complex legal issues surrounding the determination of what constitutes a ''family'' or a ''child'' in the 21st century are also reviewed, as are adoption laws, the foster care system, divorce and child custody, visitation, and support. The NASW General Counsel Law Note series provides information to social workers about legal topics of concern to the social work profession. The Law Notes are developed with the support and financial assistance of the NASW Legal Defense Fund (LDF). Contents vary by title, but generally include legal information, civil procedure, contracts, legal methods, and glossaries. Checklists, timetables, case law, and other resources help social workers understand and exercise their legal rights and responsibilities as well as the rights and responsibilities of their clients. NASW Press NASW Press, a division of National Association of Social Workers (NASW), is a leading scholarly press in the social sciences. We serve faculty, practitioners, agencies, libraries, clinicians, and researchers throughout the United States and abroad. Known for attracting expert authors, the NASW Press delivers professional information to hundreds of thousands of readers through its scholarly journals, books, and reference works. Some of the areas we publish in include: -Social work in the field of aging -Models of social work -Social work with children and adolescents -Ethics in social work -Community organization -Professional development