Belding, Harris & Petroni, Ltd.
Family Law Newsletter
Adoption and Safe Families Act - Reasonable Efforts
 
The Family Preservation and Support Services Act required states to make "reasonable efforts" to reunify families and prevent the permanent removal of a child from his or her home. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) attempts to clarify the "reasonable efforts" requirement. More...
 
Adoption and Safe Families Act - Permanency Plans and Hearings
 
The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) requires states to conduct a permanency hearing within 12 months of a child's placement in foster care and at least every 12 months thereafter for as long as the child is in foster care. The date of the child's placement in foster care is the earlier of the following two dates: the date of the first judicial finding that the child is abused or neglected, or 60 days after the removal of the child from his or her home. More...
 
International Adoption - Overview
 
The process of adopting a child from a foreign country is far more complicated than adopting a child who is a United States citizen. Prospective parents who wish to adopt a foreign child must comply with the laws of the child's home country, the laws of the United States, and the laws of the prospective parents' state of residence. Due to the legal complications inherent in international adoptions, persons who wish to adopt a foreign child should consult an experienced attorney or an adoption agency that specializes in international adoptions.More...
 
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act
 
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) was designed to deter interstate parental kidnapping and to promote uniform jurisdiction and enforcement provisions in interstate child custody and visitations cases. The UCCJEA is a uniform state law that all states can adopt to deter interstate parental kidnapping. More...
 
Adoption
 
An adoption is a legal process by which a person who is not a child's biological parent obtains all of the legal rights and responsibilities of the child's biological parents. More...
 
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