Shaken Baby Syndrome--Real or Imagined?

Some readers may know me as a labor/employment and domestic relations mediator/arbitrator.  However, I am also a GAL for abused, neglected kiddos.  As such, I take special interest in unusual court cases involving children. I was especially upset and intrigued by a recent ABA Journal article on the heated debate concerning the scientific soundness of  shaken baby syndrome theories.

NM Courts Uphold Home Mortgage Re-Fi Practices

A significant part of my mediation practice nowadays involves foreclosure mediation.  As I've written elsewhere, some courts on the East and West coasts have taken mortgage lenders to task in recent years.  In New Mexico, however, much of the debate about mortgage lending and foreclosure practices has been largely limited to op-ed pieces until now.  Finally, New Mexico courts have weighed in on lending practices at least, in a decision that clarifies the issues but may not bode well for home-owners.

The Inside Scoop on CYFD and Abuse/Neglect, Part II

In addition to my labor and employment mediation/arbitration work, I am also a New Mexico domestic relations mediator and child protection worker (CASA and GAL), In a previous blog, I outlined the general process by which children believed to be abused or neglected are brought into and processed through "the system."  In this follow up blog, I'll address specific details that crop up between intake and placement.

Child Safety Assessment --Threats and Protective Capacities

As a guardian ad litem (GAL) and domestic relations mediator in New Mexico, I am attuned to issues related to the safety and adequate care of children.   The emerging conceptual model today is to assess threats of child abuse and weigh those threats against the “protective capacities” in the family, to determine whether or not a child is or can be made “safe” in a given home environment.  If the child is or cannot be made safe, the State must assume custody.  This blog reviews the new safety threat/protective capacity model or analysis.

Vehicular Manslaughter Distinguished from Child Abuse

As a guardian ad litem (GAL) and domestic relations mediator in New Mexico, I take special interest in unusual court cases involving children, even when not precisely within my bailiwick.  In State v. Gonzales, 2011-NMCA-081, the New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that criminal negligence that endangers the public at large--such as driving will intoxicated--and results in injury or death of a child cannot generally support a conviction for negligent child abuse by endangerment (NMSA 30-6-1(D))(1)).

The Inside Scoop on CYFD

As a New Mexico domestic relations mediator and child protection worker (CASA and GAL), I attend training and blog in these areas with fair regularity.  I have previously written in broad outline form about the New Mexico child protection laws, timelines and policies, and now report on training conducted in August 2011 by CYFD)and the Albuquerque Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program, in which CYFD gave a overview on CYFD policies and procedures from intake to placement.  

Is Media Making Our Kids Too Sexy Too Soon?

As a domestic relations mediator and child protection worker (CASA and GAL)--and a parent--I have occasion to wonder if the media is making our kids too precocious too soon.  In So Sexy So Soon (2008), authors Diane E. Levin, PhD and Jean Kilbourne, EdD weigh in and conclude that is the case.  While I do not agree with all of their premises or prejudices, there is still considerable merit to their book