Children, Parents & the Law

You may contact Susan Herrick, the course law library liaison, for research-related questions at sherrick@law.umaryland.edu.

Getting Started

With any project, unless you are already knowledgeable about the topic area, it is best to start with basic, introductory resources and then to consult more focused works, moving from secondary sources to primary sources.

Secondary sources such as articles and books can provide you with an overview of your topic and help you think of search terms you might not have thought of otherwise. They also cite primary authorities such as statutes and cases. You can use the primary sources cited in secondary sources as a jumping off point to find other primary sources in several ways:

Shepardize or KeyCite them to see what other sources have cited them;
Read cases to see what other sources they cite;
On Westlaw or in West Digests, look up the topics and key numbers in the cases you've already read to find other cases that address the same issues;
On Lexis, use "More Like This" to find other sources with wording or citation patterns similar to the document you started with;
Read annotations to statutes to find cross references to cases that have analyzed them or regulations that have been issued under their authority.

Secondary Sources: Journals & Law Reviews

The two main indexes to law journals are LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals & Books (which includes books as well). These indexes include references to many journals not included in Westlaw or Lexis databases and in some cases provide access to the full text electronically. Each of these two online indexes has a parallel print version: the Current Law Index (K33 .C87), and the Index to Legal Periodicals (K9 .N32) are shelved near the print journals on level 1. The Index to Legal Periodicals is particularly helpful if you need to find articles published prior to 1980. For additional help on finding articles, link to Finding Articles in Legal Journals and Law Reviews.

Most print journals are shelved on level 1 of the library, in alphabetical order by journal title. To find out if the library has a particular journal title in electronic format, use the e-journals link on the Library web page or ask a librarian for help.

Brief Bibliography

The following is a partial list of the Children, Parents & the Law related materials available in the Thurgood Marshall Law Library. The material is listed by main entry with the title and/or author information in bold type.

Periodicals

Family Law Quarterly.
Chicago: Section of Family Law, American Bar Association, 1967-.
PERIODICAL STACKS

ABA Child Law Practice.
Washington, DC: ABA Center on Children and the Law, c1996- .
GENERAL STACKS KF479 .A15 A2

Family Court Review.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., 2000-
PERIODICAL STACKS.

Maryland Domestic Law Report.
Arlington, VA: Family Law News Co., 1999- .
PERIODICAL STACKS.
Current year only retained.

Books and Treatises:

Subject compilations of state laws.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981-
GENERAL STACKS KF240 .S795

Freeman, Michael D.A.
Children's Rights.
Burlington, VT: Ashgate Dartmouth, 2004.
GENERAL STACKS K639 .C48 2004

Krause, Harry D.
Family law in a nutshell.
4th ed.
St. Paul, MN: Thompson/West, 2003.
READING ROOM KF505 .Z9 K7 2003

Kramer, Donald T
Legal Rights of Children.
Rev. 2d ed.
Eagan, MN: Thompson/West, 2005.
GENERAL STACKS KF5479 .L44 2005

Guggenheim, Martin.
What’s wrong with children’s rights?
Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2005
GENERAL STACKS HQ789 .G78 2005

Moyhihan, Daniel P. et al., eds.
The Future of the Family.
New York: Russell Sage Foundation 2004.
GENERAL STACKS HQ536.F98 2004

Ramsey, Sarah H.
Children and the law in a nutshell.
2nd ed.
St. Paul, MN: Thompson/West, 2003
READING ROOM KF479. Z9 R36 2003

Family law and practice / by Arnold H. Rutkin, general editor.
New York: M. Bender, 1985-
GENERAL STACKS KF505 .F34 1985

Fundamentals of family law and practice.
Baltimore: Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers, Inc., 2000.
GENERAL STACKS KFM1294 .F86 2000

Lindey, Alexander.
Lindey and Parley on separation agreements and antenuptial contracts.
2nd ed.
New York: M. Bender, 1999.
GENERAL STACKS KF535 .L5 1999

Alimony, child support & counsel fees-- award, modification & enforcement / by Barry H. Frank ... [et al.].
New York: M. Bender, 1988-
GENERAL STACKS KF537 .A94 1988

Child custody & visitation law and practice / by John P. McCahey ... [et al.]
New York: M. Bender, 1983-
GENERAL STACKS KF547 .C47 1983

Atkinson, Jeff.
Modern child custody practice.
2nd ed.
New York: M Bender, 2000.
GENERAL STACKS KF505.5 A98 2000

Jacobson, Leonard S.
Child custody and visitation in Maryland.
Eau Claire, WI: National Business Institute, 1995.
GENERAL STACKS KFM1304.6 J32 1995

Fiermonte, Cecilia.
Making it permanent: reasonable efforts to finalize permanency plans for foster children.
Washington, DC: ABA Center on Children and the Law, c2002.
GENERAL STACKS KF3735 .F54 2002

Beck, Connie J.
Family mediation: facts, myths, and future prospects.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, c2001.
GENERAL STACKS KF535 .B43 2001

American Law Institute.
Principles of the law of family dissolution: analysis and recomendations.
Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2002.
GENERAL STACKS KF535 .P752 2002

Biomedicine, the family, and human rights / edited by Marie-Thérèse Meulders-Klein, Ruth Deech and Paul Vlaardingerbroek.
The Hague; New York: Kluwer Law International, c2002.
GENERAL STACKS K3611 .A77 B56 2002

Adoption law and practice / by Joan H. Hollinger ... [et al.]
New York: M. Bender, 1988-
GENERAL STACKS KF545 .A93 1988

Davis, Dena S.
Genetic Dilemmas: Reproductive Technology, Parental Choices, and Children's Futures.
New York: Routledge, 2001.
GENERAL STACKS RG133.5 .D38 2001

Lauritzen, Paul, ed.
Cloning and the Future of Human Embryo Research.
Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
GENERAL STACKS QH442.2 .C566 2001
(Includes discussions of cloning for reproductive purposes.)

Rauber, Diane Boyd, ed.
Making Sense of the ASFA [Adoption and Safe Families Act] Regulations: a Road Map for Effective Implementation.
Washington, DC: American Bar Association, National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues, 2001.
GENERAL STACKS KF545 .M35 2001

Taylor, M. Christine.
Grandparent Visitation Rights: a Legal Research Guide.
Buffalo, NY: W.S. Hein, 2000.
GENERAL STACKS KF241 .D65 T39 2000

Walker, Nancy E.
Children's Rights in the United States: in Search of a National Policy.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999.
GENERAL STACKS KF479 .W35 1999

Carp, E. Wayne.
Family Matters: Secrecy and Disclosure in the History of Adoption.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998.
GENERAL STACKS HV875.55 .C38 1998

Freundlich, Madelyn.
Wrongful Adoption: Law, Policy, & Practice.
Washington, DC: CWLA Press; New York : E.B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, 1998.
GENERAL STACKS KF545 .F74 1998

Dolgin, Janet L.
Defining the Family: Law, Technology, and Reproduction in an Uneasy Age.
New York: New York University Press, 1997.
GENERAL STACKS KF3830 .D65 1997

Dorne, Clifford K.
Child Maltreatment: a Primer in History, Public Policy, and Research.
Guilderland, NY: Harrow and Heston, 1997.
GENERAL STACKS HV6626.52 .D67 1997

Coppo, Timothy.
Reproductive Technology: a Research Guide to the Legal Status of the Frozen Human Embryo.
Buffalo, NY: W.S. Hein, 1996.
GENERAL STACKS KF241 .D65 C67 1996

Hardin, Mark.
Early Termination of Parental Rights: Developing Appropriate Statutory Grounds.
Washington, DC: American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, 1996.
GENERAL STACKS KF547 .H374 1996

Mathieu, Deborah.
Preventing Prenatal Harm: Should the State Intervene?
2nd ed.
Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1996.
GENERAL STACKS RG960 .M33 1996

Boling, Patricia, ed.
Expecting Trouble: Surrogacy, Fetal Abuse, and New Reproductive Technologies.
Boulder: Westview Press, 1995.
GENERAL STACKS KF3760 .A75 E97 1995

Wagner, William Joseph.
The Contractual Reallocation of Procreative Resources and Parental Rights: the Natural Endowment Critique.
Brookfield, VT: Dartmouth Pub., 1995.
GENERAL STACKS KF3830 .W34 1995

Gordon, William MacGuire.
The Law of Home Schooling.
Topeka, KS: National Organization on Legal Problems of Education, 1994.
GENERAL STACKS KF4221 .Z9 G67 1994

Humm, S. Randall, ed.
Child, Parent, and State: Law and Policy Reader.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994.
GENERAL STACKS KF479 .A75 C475 1994

Tate, Julia J.
Surrogacy: What Progress Since Hagar, Bilhah, and Zilpah.
Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Family Law, 1994.
GENERAL STACKS KF505 .Z9 T25 1994

Bartholet, Elizabeth.
Family Bonds: Adoption and the Politics of Parenting.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
GENERAL STACKS HV875.55 .B38 1993

Eekelaar, John and Sarcevic, Petar, eds.
Parenthood in Modern Society: Legal and Social Issues for the Twenty-First Century.
Dordrecht; Boston: M. Nijhoff, 1993.
GENERAL STACKS HQ755.8 .P3784 1993

Friedman, Scott E.
The Law of Parent-Child Relationships: a Handbook.
Chicago: Section of Family Law, American Bar Association1992.
GENERAL STACKS KF540 .F75 1992

Primary Law

Legislative Materials

Thomas
United States Code(searchable full text)
Congressional Record (searchable full text)
Maryland Code Click on the X to the left of Maryland Code in the left frame to open Table of Contents
Maryland General Assembly
Maryland Judiciary - Department of Family Administration

Administrative Materials

Code of Federal Regulations (searchable full text)
List of Sections Affected
Federal Register (searchable full text)
Code of Maryland Administrative Regulations

Judicial Materials

Agencies, Associations, and Non-Governmental Organizations

ABA Center on Children and the Law
Administration for Children and Families - Department of Health and Human Services
Advocates for Children and Youth
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Association of Family & Conciliation Courts
Center for Families, Children & the Courts
- CFCC Update (newsletter)
Child Rights Information Network
Child Trends
Children's Defense Fund
National Center for Adoption Law at Capital University Law School
Duke University's Center for Child and Family Policy
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse Includes extensive citations to federal and state laws
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
American Association of Open Adoption Agencies
Grandparents Rights Organization
Home School Legal Defense Association
School Choice - Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Voices for America's Children (formerly National Association for Child Advocates)
National Association of Counsel for C hildren
National Family Resiliency Center
Young Women - National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League
Parental Decision Making - Ethics in Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
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This Course Research Page was created by Barbara West and updated by Susan Herrick.