The Youth First Initiative, a national advocacy campaign, is seeking to end incarceration of youth by closing youth prisons and investing in community-based alternatives. The Initiative believes that the system of incarcerating youth is so beyond repair that is does not need mere improvement but …
One of the biggest crises in the child welfare system is caseworker turnover. Many involved families have ten or more new workers through the life of their case. According to Crosscut, turnover is around 20 percent a year in Washington State and has been as high as 30 percent in King County (almo…
Wonderful grandparents can make an enormous impact in the lives of their grandchildren. Arguably, it is in the child’s best interest to have visitations with their grandparents, and the grandparents have an interest in maintaining their relationship with their grandchildren. The Washington Legisl…
Parental alienation occurs in high-conflict divorce, where the child is caught between two fighting parents and made to choose sides. While every divorce, every family, and every child is unique there are some universal recommendations for helping the polarized child form and maintain healthy rel…
Harvard University recently highlighted research showing how the child welfare system can benefit from utilizing findings in the neuroscience and child development fields. Focusing on the causes and effects of toxic stress, this research shows how children could greatly benefit from streamlined s…
Every person, every family, and every divorce is unique. Gone are the days where everyone is stuck in the “every Wednesday and every other weekend” rut. While this arrangement may work for some, in the modern age attorneys and families can work together to craft unique parenting arrangements that…
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) recently modified its visitation policy in a major way. There is now a presumption that visits between parents and children be unsupervised and in the least restrictive setting unless the presence of threats and danger to the child requires the …
A prenuptial agreement is a contract entered into by a couple before marriage. The prenup spells out the property rights of one or both of the parties involved. One of the most common situations calling for a prenup in Washington is the second marriage involving children. Why?
Pre-marital agre…
President Obama has decided to move forward a proposition to limit child support obligations for prisoners during the time they are incarcerated. Those who support this action argue that current child support obligations strap prisoners with insurmountable debt that inhibits their ability to ree…
Divorce is never easy but it is especially complicated when you share responsibility for living creatures with your spouse. There are legal guidelines in place to navigate child custody but what about pet custody? Ever increasingly couples share pets instead of children. This presents a difficult…