A panel of the Alabama Supreme Court recently held that a state foster care worker cannot dismiss a lawsuit stemming from fraudulent drug test results. The case is a good illustration of why mandated reporters and anyone in a youth-serving organization needs to be certain that they are covered by good insurance that will provide…

A recent investigative report raises the question of whether our mental health system prescribes to teenagers too many psychotropic medications that haven’t been tested for that age group or haven‘t been tested in combination. One reason is a cycle we have seen in other areas of medicine: a patient is prescribed one drug for a…

In a recent case lying at the intersection of parents’ rights, religious beliefs, foster care, and health care, the Georgia Supreme Court reviewed the principles for determining the sincerity of religious beliefs. The children in the case of In the Interest of C.C., were in the custody of the state Division of Family and Children…

Trigger warnings in classrooms are a beloved technique without a scientific basis. In fact, the studies that do exist indicate that trigger warnings in higher education do more harm than good.  A newly-published literature review surveyed the mental health studies that are available, noting that “despite emerging momentum for the adoption of trigger warnings in…

According to a study by psychologists and lawyers, up to 1/3 of forensic psychologists don’t use evidence-based protocols for their evaluations. Even more distressing is the finding that lawyers rarely challenge such untested procedures and courts even more rarely exclude the evidence. The researchers noted that their data “suggest that some of the weakest tools…

A nonprofit legal group‘s lawsuit highlights how mandated reporter laws can interact with overbroad abuse registry laws to actively harm children. I don’t know whether the facts of the case will bear out the complaint’s allegations that people are placed on the registry without notice or that the process of being removed from the registry…

A recent review and meta-analysis of mental health literature looked at the relationship between complex trauma and cognitive functioning in children.  The results shows a significant decrease in cognitive functioning among children who had suffered complex trauma, and that the decrease happens relatively quickly.  It’s not clear how this happens.  There are studies showing differences…

A federal district judge recently issued a preliminary injunction against the University of Idaho law school, preventing it from enforcing a no-contact order it issued against members and the faculty sponsor of the Christian Legal Society chapter at the school. The disagreement started when the law school sponsored a “moment of community” in response to…

The U.S. Department of Education has issued proposed new regulations under Title IX, changing many of the existing rules for K-12 and post-secondary schools. In at least one respect, however, the new rules may force schools into choosing between losing funding and violating the First Amendment. The rules would require affected schools to address “unwelcome sex-based…

One universal component of child protection policies is some level of education for the children themselves. Most off-the-shelf policies have a child education component, and abuse prevention advocates love these programs. The underlying rationale is that by teaching children how to protect themselves, we can empower them to resist grooming and actual abuse. Also, the…