There's a small revolution boiling in the child-welfare system as courts slowly admit that children deserve to be heard on decisions such as who will rear them.

But it is a slow-moving and painful revolution, according to Jerri Blair and George Russ, attorneys who advocate for children's rights in the legal system. The duo gained national attention last year when Gregory K., a Florida 12-year-old, "divorced" his birth parents. Blair was his attorney; Russ is his new father and served as co-counsel.They spoke at the Troubled Youth conference at Snowbird Thursday that drew about 750 people from agencies that deal with troubled youths, from mental health to legal problems.

"A few years ago, (judges) thought there was no way they should ever give children to anyone but biological parents. We are in a situation in America today where families are disintegrating. If someone can help a child grow up well and responsible, they are a real family," Blair said in an interview with the Deseret News. "We're trying to make the courts pay more attention."

Despite a promise of inalienable rights for "all people," Russ said, there is "no legal mechanism for children. The state refuses to listen. They can't even intervene in the custody question.

"I just have one question: What is so terribly frightening about listening to little children?"

Children in the delinquency system because they have committed crimes have legal rights, Blair said. Children in the dependency system "through no fault of their own - somebody did something to them" - have no rights.

"In the delinquency system there's a threat of detention centers. At least there (a child) gets three square meals and relative safety. That's not the case in the dependency system," she said.

The attorneys believe a "biological bias" is at the core of the problem. For 200 years Americans have believed children belong in their biological families, no matter what. Sometimes, they said, foster or adoptive families are a better choice.

Blair said children should be able to expect four things: They have a right to a loving relationship with an adult. They need the ability to grow into responsible adults. They need physical liberty. They need freedom from physical harm.

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Critics of children's rights have said it will destroy families and that giving kids standing in court will clog the legal system. Russ disputes that premise. "Critics have little or no understanding of what it is about. All that is being advocated is that children be listened to." No one wants to take children from "good or even marginal" families. Instead, he said, they want to "free children from parents who refuse to rear them."

Children can't initiate frivolous lawsuits. In fact, Russ said, "they can barely find attorneys to bring meritorious lawsuits."

Blair cites a case where an infant was removed from his home because he was "one day away from being dead of diaper rash." He had boils. He was covered with roaches and one crawled out of his mouth. His mother wanted him back. Sometimes, she said, love is not enough.

"We have to start listening to the voices of children, and considering their best interests. . .What we're facing with abuse and neglect is worse than any war. It's the worst crisis this country has ever faced."

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