A home study, also called an “adoption study”, is an investigation to determine whether the prospective adoptive parents are fit and qualified to care for a child and whether the physical environment of their home is safe and healthy for all occupants. Usually the investigation includes the health, medical, criminal, family and home background of the adoptive parents.
In loco parentis is a Latin term meaning "in [the] place of a parent" or "instead of a parent." The term refers to a common law doctrine which denotes the legal responsibility of some person or organization to perform some of the functions or responsibilities of a parent.
In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), is a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that juvenile criminal defendants are entitled to Due Process protection under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Incompetency is a lack of physical or intellectual ability, or to be deemed unqualified of doing something or taking responsibility. Such inability is usually caused by a mental illness or disability.
Here are examples of incompetency in different legal areas:
Someone is considered incompetent when they are unable to manage their own affairs due to mental incapacity (such as deterioration or psychosis) or sometimes due to a serious physical disability. Incompetence can be used to appoint a guardian or conservator to manage the affairs of the incapacitated person.
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law enacted in 1978 that seeks to keep Native American/indigenous children with Native American/indigenous families.
Infancy is an affirmative defense offered by a defendant in a criminal proceeding that the defendant did not have the mens rea necessary to be charged with the crime on account of their age.
