Child custody / Dedria Bryfonski, book editor.

Includes bibliographical references (P. 218-221) and index.

Ch.1 How should custody be determined when parents divorce? : Joint custody is the best solution / David Levy -- Joint custody is not the best solution / Nicki Bradley -- Gay parents should have equal rights in child custody cases / Charlotte J. Patterson -- Gay parents should not be granted child custody / John W. Kennedy -- Sometimes grandparents should be awarded custody / Michelle Ognibene -- Children raised by grandparents are at risk for emotional problems / Gregory C. Smith, Patrick A. Palmieri -- Parental Alienation Syndrome should be considered in custody cases / Elizabeth M. Ellis -- Parental Alienation Syndrome should not be considered in custody cases / Trish Wilson.

Ch.2 How should custody be determined for adopted children? : Gay adoption should be permitted / Maria Carmela Sioco -- Gay adoption should not be permitted / Thomas D. Williams -- Surrogate mothers have the right to seek custody / Lorraine Dusky -- Surrogate mothers have no right to seek custody / Brian Palmer -- Sometimes adopted children must be returned to the State's care / Josephine A. Ruggiero -- Returning adopted children is never an option / Joanne Bamberger -- Children should have a voice in determining their own custody / Family Law Quarterly.

Ch.3 What is the role of government in determining child custody? : The child custody rights of military personnel should be protected by the Federal government / Michael R. Turner -- It is inappropriate for the Federal government to intervene in custody lawsuits involving military personnel / Mark E. Sullivan -- Religious stereotypes should not be used to take children from their parents / Mary Zeiss Stange -- If a religious group abuses children, the children should be protected / Katy Vine -- Young children fare better behind bars with their incarcerated mothers / Beth Schwartzapfel -- Imprisoning the children of illegal immigrants is traumatic for the children / Ellis Cose.

Ch.4 Should abduction be used in international custody disputes? : Sometimes abduction is the only way to regain custody / Nadya Labi -- Mediation is preferable to abduction to resolve custody disputes / Christoph C. Paul, Jamie Walker -- The Hague Convention needs to be strengthened to address international child abduction / Lindsey Douthit -- Despite weaknesses, the Hague Convention plays an important role in resolving international child abduction / Debbie S. L. Ong -- Missionaries operated with good intentions in rescuing Haitian children for adoption / Joel Millman, Jeffrey Ball -- Missionaries took Haitian children who weren't orphans into custody / Economist.

This volume explores the topics relating to child custody by presenting varied expert opinions that examine many of the different aspects that comprise these issues. The selected articles discuss many aspects relating to the legal terms which are used to describe the legal relationship between a parent and his or her child. It includes such things as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child. Child custody decisions have to be made in cases such as divorce, or when a child cannot be looked after by either parent and has to be put into foster care or put up for adoption. The viewpoints are selected from a wide range of highly respected and often hard-to-find sources and publications. Allows the reader to attain the higher-level critical thinking and reading skills that are essential in a culture of diverse and contradictory opinions.