chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

ABA Policies

Each year ABA entities present policy proposals to the ABA House of Delegates. Those policies are debated and voted on by the Association’s more than 400,000 members. Policy proposals that pass the House of Delegates reflect the voice of the legal profession on complex legal issues. The following ABA policies address child and youth law topics. Many were produced collaboratively by the Center on Children and the Law and the Commission on Youth at Risk in addition to other ABA entities. We encourage you to use these policies to bolster your advocacy for children, youth and families.

Search the ABA Policy Library

Policies in Date Order (1979-2014)

 ABA Resolution 606 – Race and Child Welfare (2022)

In a policy passed before the House of Delegates on Monday, August 8, the American Bar Association has called on all legal professionals to recognize the connection between child welfare and our country’s long history of over-surveillance of and deliberate underinvestment in the lives of Black families. This Resolution urges the ABA and the legal profession to examine that history, acknowledge our role in shaping it, and begin to untangle it by following the lead of Black children, parents, and kin who have experienced child welfare and know both the potential for harm and the importance of investing in the strength of Black families as foundational to our country.

ABA Resolution 613, Presumption of Child Presence in Dependency Proceedings

The ABA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 613 at the February 2022 Midyear Meeting. The resolution recognizes a presumption of child presence in all dependency proceedings. View the proposed resolution and report.

ABA Policy 115, Involvement of Individuals with Lived Experience in Legal System Reform, August 2020

ABA Policy Resolution 115 recognizes effective reforms of legal systems that affect the rights of children require active participation by individuals who experienced those systems as children and youth. It encourages the legal community address any barriers to that participation in reform and advocacy efforts. 

ABA House of Delegates Video

A video recording of Commission Members Dafna Gozani and Lily Colby presenting ABA Resolution 115 before the ABA House of Delegates on August 3, during the 2020 Annual meeting. Thank you Dafna and Lily and everyone in the larger community who called for this resolution. 

 

Attorneys

Accreditation

Bar Activities

Agency/Government Representation

Child Representation

Parent Representation

Abuse and Neglect

Child Trauma

Trauma-Informed, Evidence-Based Practices for Justice-Involved Children and Youth, Feb. 2014

Child Victims

Evidence

Racial Disparities

System Reform

Treatment

Custody and Support

Custody

Mediation

Support

Visitation

Family Integrity/Unity

Foster Care and Adoption

Caregivers

Indian Child Welfare Act

International Adoption

Interstate Placements

Schools

Special Issues

System Reform

Health

Child Trauma

Trauma-Informed, Evidence-Based Practices for Justice-Involved Children and Youth, Feb. 2014

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Health Care

HIV/AIDS

Psychotropic Medication

Substance Abuse

Immigration

Juvenile Justice

Adjudication

Appellate Representation

Legal Reform

Juvenile Rights

Miranda Warnings

Sentencing

Special Issues

Violence Exposure

Schools

Corporal Punishment

Disabilities

Discipline

Right to Education

School-to-Prison Pipeline

Violence

Uniform Acts and Conventions

Adoption

Abduction/Kidnapping

Artificial Insemination

Children of War

Children's Rights

Custody

Fathers

Guardianship

Pornography/Prostitution

Support