Nonbiological Custody

In cases of granting child custody, courts in the U.S have become more cautious in their decision-making over the past two decades. Herman and Bernet (1997) maintain that judges and clinicians have used several conceptual models to guide them in their opinions regarding child custody disputes and placements (1784). The so-called ôtender yearsö presumption holds that young children need to be with their mothers, a doctrine that guided most court custody decisions for most of the twentieth century. Within the past decade though, Herman (et al., 1997) argues the ôbest interests of the child (BIC)ö test has become the prevailing legal test for custody decisions in the United States (1784).

Although there are wide variations in how this concept is interpreted, it generally favors the custody arrangement that best fulfills the needs of the specific child involved and the one that best fosters their normative development. A thi

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rkers, there is ample support for granting biological custody except in the most severe conditions such as extreme parental mental illness or abuse. Many argue that under few circumstances should children be removed from the custody of their biological parents (or blood relatives). While there is ample support for this position in the literature, recent trends in social welfare and the judicial system point to a growing tendency to award custody to nonbiological parents. SUPPORT FOR NONBIOLOGICAL CUSTODY According to one legal Web site, the tendency of courts to grant custody to nonbiological parents is growing and the definition of nonbiological parents is expanding through those decisions. As one legal analyst maintains, ôCourts in the past have usually awarded custody to someone other than the biological or natural parents in cases of abandonment or chronic abuse. This has begun to change in recent years. Judges are awarding custody to anyone with an interest in the child who can introduce evidence why they would be the better custodians than the natural parentsö (Grandparents, 2001, 1). Such trends have outraged advocates of biological parental custody who feel such a measure or test potential harms the welfare of the ch
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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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