What rights does a juvenile defendant have at a trial? How does the law define a Child Requiring Assistance? What are the rights and responsibilities of unmarried fathers? How are students with special needs identified and helped? Kids and the Law/Los Menores y la Ley has answers to these questions and many more. Written in plain English, with Spanish translation, it is a revision of the first book of its kind in MA - an easy-to use, comprehensive guide to Massachusetts' laws and court actions involving children and their families. Topics covered include delinquency proceedings, child neglect and abuse laws, legal issues related to school, mental health and substance use problems, a glossary with clear definitions of legal terms, and a resource section that points the way to further information and services.

Since its implementation in 2003, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has been the subject of intense political and scholarly debate. A complicated mixture of provisions intended to provide harsher punishments for serious violent crimes while encouraging positive, non-punitive interventions in less serious cases, its impact on the youth justice system remains controversial. Implementing and Working with the Youth Criminal Justice Act across Canada provides the first comprehensive, province-by-province analysis of how each Canadian jurisdiction has implemented the Act in accordance with its own history, traditions, and institutional arrangements. Drawing on in-depth interviews with probation officers, counselors, educators, and social workers, the contributors use the experiences of practitioners to offer a new analytical perspective on a complicated and contentious aspect of the Canadian justice system. Their conclusions provide vital policy and program information for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers concerned with Canada’s youth justice systems.