Foster Children, Rights and the Law: Best Interest, Normalcy and the Welfare System

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Matthew Trail (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Germany)

Foster Children, Rights and the Law

Best Interest, Normalcy and the Welfare System

Matthew Trail (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Germany)

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
31 March 2025

Adoption & fostering; International human rights law; Constitutional & administrative law; Human rights & civil liberties law; Family law: children

This book discusses child wishes, rights and participation in the foster care system. Making decisions in a foster child’s best interest is a widely used, but also widely criticized international legal doctrine. This work discusses the two major legal frameworks, best interest and normalcy, for which foster care decisions are made and how those frameworks might shape how child welfare professionals view and interpret children’s rights and participation. Normalcy, the idea that decisions should promote a “normal” life, is a separate legal doctrine which can be in conflict with best interest determinations. However, the concept of normalcy is also theoretically built into best interest decisions and therefore also plays a role in most child welfare systems. Mixing both empirical legal and child welfare research, the book demonstrates the ways in which risk aversion and fear drive best interest decision-making to the detriment of both practitioners and the children they aim to serve. It argues that a children’s rights framework starting with normalcy is a better tool for promoting child participation and centering the child within the dependency process. The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policymakers working in the areas of children’s rights law, child welfare and international human rights law.

By: Matthew Trail (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods Germany)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 570g
ISBN: 9781032829791
ISBN 10: 1032829796
Pages: 214
Publication Date: 31 March 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. The Child Welfare System and Dependency 2. The Best Interest of Children 3. Normalcy 4. Risk, Normalcy and Best Interest 5. Decision Making 6. Childrens Rights and Participation 7. Best Interest vs Normalcy: How Professionals Respond 8. Normalcy Charter

Matthew Trail is Research Fellow with the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Germany, and a former US legal aid child welfare care attorney.