Shackled in the Land of Liberty: No Rights for Children

Abstract

This article addresses the rights of children in areas of juvenile justice, child welfare, and mental health. Although a large proportion of the juvenile court's business includes child welfare and mental health cases, these important areas are rarely considered by authors concerned with the future of the juvenile court. In mental health, children have few, if any, rights. Yet, they are often subjected to abuse and constraints that would constitute major civil rights violations if they were adults. In child welfare, children have some basic rights, but they are often dependent upon the virtually unbridled discretion of child welfare and other administrative officials. More often than not, the juvenile court plays a perfunctory role in the process and merely rubber-stamps recommendations made by child welfare personnel. The article discusses the implications of these issues and how they should be addressed in the future.