Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

In a Child In Need of Assistance matter, the juvenile court is charged with carrying out the Juvenile Causes Act, the primary purpose of which is “to provide for the care, protection, and safety” of a child who has been ...

Domestic violence continues to create challenges for advocacy for children in in both family law and juvenile law cases. In Maryland, the court hears 2,000-3,000 requests for protective and peace orders every month.  https://www.courts.state.md.us/eservices/dvmonthlypublicreports. Those statistics show that domestic violence ...

On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of The Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”), The Indian Child Welfare Act, Public Law 95-608 codified at 25 U.S.C. §§1901-1963 (1978), in the case of Haaland v. Brackeen, US ...

Available data shows that children in the child welfare system experience a substantially greater risk of becoming a victim of domestic sex trafficking, especially those missing from placement. In a survey produced by the Children’s Bureau, of the youth who ...

Maryland Rule 9-204.1 became effective Jan. 1, 2020. Under the rule, parties to a family law action in circuit court are required to work together to create a joint Parenting Plan which they believe is in the child’s best interests. ...

Addiction does not discriminate; it affects people of all socioeconomic groups.

Foster care is meant to be “a temporary service for short-term care and supportive services to children who are unable to live at home because of child abuse or neglect.” The longer a child remains in foster care, the more ...

The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique opportunity to examine important data points concerning the education of children in kindergarten through 12th grade in Maryland’s public schools and to evaluate the outcomes of student academic success. According to the Maryland State ...

The issue of a parent’s right, need or desire to relocate while sharing custody of children with another parent is becoming a more prevalent conversation in the courts. Whether a person has a need to get away from an abusive ...

A recent report by Maryland’s Department of Human Services showed a total of 179 youths in out-of-home placements throughout the state were admitted to emergency rooms for psychiatric evaluation or crisis between January 2020 and September 2021. Some of those ...