System Responses to Problematic Behaviors by a Child Under 12

As a result of the recent increase in the age of juvenile court jurisdiction at the lower end to 12 for purposes of adjudicating juvenile delinquency, Senator Brownsberger’s office has received a number of inquiries as to how the court system, a school system, or other entities might respond to problematic behaviors by a child under the age of 12.

Child Support Reform

Senator Brownsberger, I am writing to encourage your support of legislation that assumes 50/50 child custody and support, regardless of parental gender, in all cases unless abuse or neglect can be proven. This is not a woman’s issue or a man’s issue, this is a parental issue that needs to be addressed immediately to ensure our courts are working in a family’s best interest

Justina Pelletier

Recently, I’ve been hearing from people urging me to take action to free Justina Pelletier from the custody of the Department of Children and Families and send her back to her parents. See the sample emails further below. I’m certainly troubled by the story of Justina. It is always deeply saddening when DCF takes children …