Debating the Options for Adolescents: Can We Safeguard the Interests of Endangered Adolescents?

A Summary of Proceedings of the Forum

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Authors: Esther Wattenberg
Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2001

Excerpt from the introduction:

This forum, “Debating the Options for Adolescents at Risk,” opens up a central question for safeguarding the well-being of older children enmeshed in a child welfare system. What should a community provide for older children who cannot live at home? We shall see whether this forum can provide answers to this persistent question. The context for this forum rests on two major concepts: one is permanency…The second major concept rests on the acknowledgment of the ascendancy of the court system. Decisions are not, primarily, in the hands of social service personnel in county systems. Decisions are ultimately in the hands of the court. The extent to which the court system is shaped by the permanency concept is not entirely clear.

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