Child Law Research Guide: ABA Resources

Includes links to Web sites and ABA publications, including "Child CourtWorks", a bimonthly newsletter, as well as information about the Center's ongoing projects.

This ABA Guidebook offers a starting point for understanding the Family First Act and how it can inform and improve legal practice and judicial decision making. It provides a detailed overview of major Family First Act provisions, implementation strategies, and sources and research to cite in legal advocacy and judicial decisions.

Family Justice Initiative is a national collaborative organization comprised of children’s attorneys, parents’ attorneys, educators, researchers, national policy advocates, and lived experience experts who share a common goal: to increase access to high-quality legal representation for children and parents in child welfare cases. It’s led by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, the Children’s Law Center of California, and the Washington State Office of Public Defense. Their Web site includes relevant research and data sources, news, and advocacy guides.

This site includes tables summarizing state laws in the areas of child support, custody, visitation, and appointment laws in adoption, guardianship, and parentage cases.

Developed in conjunction with the Institute for Judicial Administration, the American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Standards address the entire continuum of the juvenile justice system, from police handling and intake to adjudication, disposition, juvenile corrections, and appeals.