Finding agreement to limit life-sustaining treatment for children who are in state custody.

For children in state custody with extensive disabilities who reside in a skilled nursing facility, it is possible and, at times, desirable to limit treatment in the form of withholding resuscitation. With demonstration and documentation of the benefits and burdens of resuscitation for a particular child, the child protection agency will authorize a "Do Not Resuscitate" order. This article discusses the procedural as well as ethical issues involved in the process of finding agreement to limit life-sustaining treatment for children who are in state custody.