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A Court Minute: Overview of How Paternity is Defined and Established in Dependency Court

Paternity, who is a child's father, is an issue that is raised very early on in the dependency proceedings.  There are three possible paternity statuses: alleged, biological and presumed.  Paternity status has implications for the child, the father and for the legal proceedings.

Inquiries begin at the time the child is removed form his/her parents' care. The detaining Child Welfare Services (CWS) worker will ask the parent(s) about whom the child's father is. The CWS worker then reports that information to the Court during the Detention Hearing.  Additionally, at this hearing, the Court then will make its own paternity inquiries of the parent(s) present at the hearing. Unless paternity has already been established (in family court or by child support division), all fathers at the time of the Detention Hearing are deemed alleged fathers.

An alleged father is a man who is not the presumed father of the child but someone (the mother, a relative, CWS, or himself) says that he is the biological father of the child. However, the alleged father has not attained legal status yet in regard to the child. An alleged father is only entitled to notice of all proceedings regarding the child and to be appointed counsel solely to assist in establishing paternity.  An alleged father is not entitled to or offered family reunification services until paternity has been established legally, changing his status to either presumed father or biological father.  

At this juncture, an alleged father may establish paternity by signing a voluntary declaration of paternity.  Factors to be considered by the court when determining if a father is to be given presumed status is has the father held himself out in the community as the father, is the father listed on the birth certificate, was the father present at the time of the child's birth, and were the parent's married at the time of the child's birth or within 300 days of the birth?  If the Court changes the alleged father's status to that of a presumed father, the presumed father becomes considered the legal father of the child with all the legal obligations that entails.

During the process of establishing paternity, one or more of the parties may request DNA testing to establish the biological relationship between the child and the alleged father.  DNA testing is most often used when there is more than one alleged father or the father or another party is uncertain if he really is the biological father to the child.

If the DNA results established paternity, the biological father does not automatically receive family reunification services.  He may ask for reunification services and the court has the discretion to grant reunification services.  In Santa Barbara County, the prevailing practice is to ask the biological father to sign a declaration of paternity after the DNA results have established paternity. By signing the declaration, the court than can also establish the biological father as the presumed father. However, there can only be one presumed father.

Because of the complexities regarding paternity and the array of legal rights and responsibilities that come with paternity, it is very important that the paternity inquiries occur early and often in the proceedings.  Any question of parentage should be brought to the Court's attention and all avenues explored so to avoid a situation in which an alleged father is identified for the first time six months into the reunification process or when termination of family reunification is occurring.  Also, because alleged fathers (and others) are entitled to notice of the court proceedings, once an alleged father is identified it is critical for CWS to ensure that thorough and well-documented efforts are made to locate and notice any alleged fathers.

--Jennifer 

Advice from Dr. Charish Barry

Charish Barry, MD, is a local pediatric hospitalist with Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and a pediatrician in private practice (www.petitepediatrics.com). She is also a member of the Angels Board of Directors and the local representative for the American Academy of Pediatrics Southern California Chapter. Follow her on Twitter (@petitepeds) to receive her tweets about pediatric health. 

Kids should not consumer energy drinks, and rarely need sports drinks, AAP concludes

Sports and energy drinks are heavily marketed to children and adolescents, but in most cases kids don't need them - and some of these products contain substances that could be harmful to children. In a new clinical report, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) outlines how these products are being misused, discusses their ingredients, and provides guidance to decrease or eliminate consumption by children and adolescents. 

 Energy drinks contain substances not found in sports drinks that act as stimulants, such as caffeine, guarana and taurine. Caffeine - by far the most popular stimulant - has been linked to a number of harmful health effects in children, including effects on the developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems. Energy drinks are never appropriate for children or adolescents, said Dr. Schneider and Dr. Benjamin. In general, caffeine-containing beverages, including soda, should be avoided.

"There is a lot of confusion about sports drinks and energy drinks, and adolescents are often unaware of the differences in these products," said Marcie Beth Schneider, MD, FAAP, a member of the AAP Committee on Nutrition and co-author of the report. "Some kids are drinking energy drinks - containing large amounts of caffeine - when their goal is simply to rehydrate after exercise. This means they are ingesting large amounts of caffeine and other stimulants, which can be dangerous."

Sports drinks and energy drinks are different products, said Holly J. Benjamin, MD, FAAP, a member of the executive committee of the AAP Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, and a co-author of the report. Sports drinks, which contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes and flavoring, are intended to replace water and electrolytes lost through sweating during exercise. Sports drinks can be helpful for young athletes engaged in prolonged, vigorous physical activities, but in most cases they are unnecessary on the sports field or the school lunchroom.

"For most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best," Dr. Benjamin said. "Sports drinks contain extra calories that children don't need, and could contribute to obesity and tooth decay. It's better for children to drink water during and after exercise, and to have the recommended intake of juice and low-fat milk with meals. Sports drinks are not recommended as beverages to have with meals."

The report contains tables listing specific products available today and their contents.

"In many cases, it's hard to tell how much caffeine is in a product by looking at the label," Dr. Schneider said. "Some cans or bottles of energy drinks can have more than 500 mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of 14 cans of soda."

AAP recommendations include:

• Pediatricians should highlight the difference between sports drinks and energy drinks with patients and their parents, and talk about the potential health risks.
• Energy drinks pose potential health risks because of the stimulants they contain, and should never be consumed by children or adolescents.
• Routine ingestion of carbohydrate-containing sports drinks by children and adolescents should be avoided or restricted, because they can increase the risk of overweight and obesity, as well as dental erosion.
• Sports drinks have a limited function for pediatric athletes; they should be ingested when there is a need for rapid replenishment of carbohydrates and/or electrolytes in combination with water during prolonged, vigorous physical activity.
• Water, not sports drinks, should be the principal source of hydration for children and adolescents.

The Last Word