This report provides a comprehensive view of the structure of California dependency courts, their successes, and the challenges facing them, and presents recommendations for court improvement.

This handbook brings together the relevant literature on children and their developmental characteristics, the legal venues in which they may appear, and the systemic issues practitioners must consider to provide a thorough guide to working with children in the legal system. Featuring contributions from leading mental health and legal experts, chapters start with an overview and history of the juvenile justice system along with discussion of critical developmental areas imperative to consider for work with children, and idiosyncratic issues that arise. The book ends with a case presentation section that illustrates the varied roles and venues in which children appear in the legal system. An extended bibliography provides additional resources and literature to investigate specific topics in greater length. This accessible and useable guide is designed to appeal to a broad range of people encountering children in the legal system, including social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, attorneys, and judges. It will also benefit professions such as law enforcement as well as probation officers, child protective workers, school personnel, and medical personnel.

Fragile Families examines the precarious position of Latina/o families who are simultaneously caught up in systems of child welfare and immigration enforcement, focusing on the central role of child welfare decision-making in producing and maintaining boundaries of citizenship, race, and national belonging in the United States.