New Jersey Family Law Blog

Some 220 children from New Jersey’s foster program found their “forever” homes this week when their adoptions were finalized in court procedures throughout the State. (1)

November is recognized as National Adoption Month. In celebration of this, counties throughout the State held a series of activities sponsored in a cooperative effort by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the court system. These activities culminated in the finalization of adoptions held during the week of November 15 with the largest number of adoptions taking place in Essex County where the adoption of 60 foster children were finalized. In the Hunterdon/Somerset/Warren County area, six foster children were legally adopted as part of these proceedings. Private adoptions throughout the State were also honored during this observation. (1)

The adoptions in New Jersey included the placement or reunion of siblings within the same adoptive family, special needs placements, teenage adoptions and adoptions by relatives or next of kin, as well as infant adoptions resulting from the State’s Safe Haven Program. Under the Safe Haven Infant Protection Act, individuals are able to anonymously and legally surrender unwanted infants under 30 days old at any police station or hospital emergency room throughout the state. (1)

Hanover Direct Inc., a Weehawken, NJ company, has agreed to recall approximately 495,000 roman shades and 28,500 blinds following reports of the accidental death of a 22-month-old toddler from Cedar Falls, IO. Meanwhile, the blind industry is working to develop better standards for manufacturing safer window coverings in an effort to protect children from similar accidents. (1)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that the young boy was discovered by his father last May trapped in the cord of a roman shade. The toddler was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. It is estimated that one child dies each month in similar accidents. (1)

The problem is that young children can get tangled easily in the cords used to pull the shades up and down. The CPSC estimated that about 250 young children, including infants, have died from strangulation involving blind cords since 1990,. (2)

Can schools dictate student behavior when classes are not in session? That’s the basis for a court battle between parents and the Haddonfield School District. At issue is the District’s “24/7 Policy” which states underage students caught drinking will be barred from sports and other extra-curricular activities. (1)

The school contends that extracurricular activities are a privilege, not a right, and therefore can be taken away. It also claims students representing the District through sports and other activities can be held to a higher standard. Some parents, on the other hand, argue that the school is overstepping its bounds; monitoring a child’s behavior outside of school is a parental obligation. (2)

Earlier this month, Haddonfield School District won a round when a U.S. District Court refused to oppose the policy. The Court stated there was insufficient proof the policy violated anyone’s rights. As the school pointed out, students do not have to participate in any activities and, if they chose not to, would not be subject to the behavior guidelines. The District now is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit. (1)

A State lawmaker has introduced a new bill that would amend New Jersey’s Graduated Driver’s License program to provide teens with more training and require parental involvement before those teens could obtain their driver’s licenses. (1)

This bill comes in response to a national study conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA). The study found that almost half of the parents surveyed felt their teens were lacking experience in one area or another, experience that was necessary to be safe, unsupervised drivers. Among the areas cited where teen driving experience was lacking were heavy traffic/ highway conditions and rainy conditions. (2)

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) sponsored the bill which would increase the amount of training and experience teens receive before getting their licenses and require parents or guardians to accompany their teens to a driver-orientation program specifically designed for teens. (3)

Child custody issues are difficult enough to resolve, but when parents abduct their children to foreign countries, the matters become even more complicated. Child abductions to Japan by parents or other family members prove to be among the most complicated to resolve.

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abductions promotes returning abducted children to the country they originally came from, but even with this treaty, resolution of these cases is difficult. (1)

A prime example is the case of Tinton Falls resident David Goldman and his son, Sean. Sean was taken by his mother to Brazil, her home country. While there, she filed for divorce and kept Sean with her. She subsequently died but Sean remained in the custody of his stepfather. Brazil is one of the countries that is party to the Hague Convention and still the legal battle to get Sean back to the U.S. took five years. (2)

While the debate continues as to whether or not President Obama’s Health Care Reform Plan is beneficial for the country long term, several provisions of that plan took effect this week and are now enforceable by law.

Two of these changes, effective September 23, pertain specifically to children. No longer can children be denied coverage by an insurance company because of pre-existing health conditions and health coverage for children may continue under their parents’ insurance policies until they reach 26 years of age. (1)

Other changes forbid insurance companies from: