Monthly Archives June 2012

DC ADOPTION PROCEEDINGS

In the District, Child and Family Services (“CFSA”) involved adoptions are both complicated in legal requirements as well as in procedural steps needed to reach finalization.  The legal process starts with filing of an adoption petition, which would generate show cause orders to be served on parents.  Upon service, the parents may either enter a written consent, or contest the proceedings. The adoption petitioner then in a contested proceedings has to prove by clear and convincing evidence that either the biological parents have abandoned or failed to provide financial support for the child for a period of six months preceding
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MOTION TO SEAL DC CRIMINAL ARREST OR OTHER PUBLIC RECORDS:

In the District, depending on the outcome of a criminal case, there are various formulas used to seal arrest and other generated criminal records.  This blog will address four main statutorily authorized procedures and the requirements thereto: 1)   Sealing the record when case dismissed before trial 2)   Sealing record based on innocence 3)   Sealing record post trial with a non-guilty verdict 4)   Post conviction filing to seal record 1) Sealing of the Arrest Records Motion to seal an arrest record may be file by any person arrested for an offense whose prosecution/case has been terminated without conviction and before trial.
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OTHER NEWS JUNE 2012

Beyond the Penn State Scandal: Child Abuse Reporting Laws (Washington Lawyer) For some observers, the Penn State scandal exposes the problems inherent in the web of complicated laws defining the scope of who must report suspected child abuse. Available here. Parents’ Depression Linked to Problems in Children (NY Times) Research into postnatal depression has underscored the importance of checking up on parents’ mental health in the first months of a baby’s life. But a parent’s depression, it turns out, can be linked to all kinds of problems, even in the lives of older children. Available here. Adapting to Aging Out: Profiles
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