This book provides cutting-edge information available on topics such as child abuse, children's eyewitness testimony, divorce and custody, juvenile crime, and children's rights.

1. Children, law, social science, and policy: an introduction to the issues Bette L. Bottoms, Margaret Bull Kovera and Bradley D. McAuliff; Part I. Children's Rights, Their Capabilities, and Society's Responsibilities to Children: 2. The personal responsibility and work opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996: what will it mean for children? Brian Wilcox, Rebecca A. Colman and Jennifer M. Wyatt; 3. Advocacy for children's rights Mark Small and Susan P. Limber; 4. Children's rights and their capacities Melinda Schmidt and N. Dickon Reppucci; 5. Children's legal representation in civil litigation Ann M. Haralambie, Ann Nicholson Haralambie and Kari L. Nysse; Part II. Children and Family Change: 6. Termination of parental rights to free children for adoption: conflicts between parents, children, and the state Jeffrey Haugaard and Rosemary J. Avery; 7. Child custody at the crossroads: issues for a new century Charlene E. Depner; 8. Children of lesbian and gay parents: research, law, and policy Charlotte J. Patterson, Megan Fulcher and Jennifer Wainwright; Part III. Juvenile Aggression and Juvenile Justice: 9. Juvenile transfer to adult court: how can developmental and child psychology inform policy decision making? Randall T. Salekin; 10. Youth violence: correlates, interventions and legal implications Carrie S. Fried and N. Dickon Reppucci; 11. Capacity, competence, and the juvenile defendant: implications for research and policy Jennifer Woolard; Part IV. Children as Victims and Witnesses: 12. The effects of community violence on children and adolescents: intervention and social policy Steve L. Berman, Wendy K. Silverman and William Kurtines; 13. Preventing child abuse and neglect Mia McFarlane and Murray Levine; 14. Children's eyewitness memory: true disclosures and false reports Jennifer M. Schaaf, Kristen Weede Alexander, Gail S. Goodman, Simona Ghetti and Robin Edelstein; 15. Expert testimony on the suggestibility of children: does it fit? Thomas D. Lyon; 16. The status of evidentiary and procedural innovations in Child Abuse Proceedings Bradley D. McAuliff and Margaret Bull Kovera; Part V. Conclusions and Future Decisions: 17. Starting a new generation of research Gary Melton; 18. What will it take to bring child-focused law, policy, and research into the 21st century? Concluding thoughts Howard Davidson.