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Justice, speed and thoroughness in child protection court proceedings: messages from England
- Authors:
- DICKENS Jonathan, BECKETT Chris, BAILEY Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 47, Part 1, 2014, pp.103-111.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This paper reports and assesses the outcomes of a pilot programme in London to reduce the duration of child protection court proceedings. The initiative, known as the ‘Tri-borough Care Proceedings Pilot’, was intended to reduce the usual duration to 26 weeks, ahead of national moves in that direction. The paper locates the issue of court delay in a wider political and child welfare context, highlighting the dilemmas of balancing principles of family autonomy and child safety, support and protection, thoroughness and speed, welfare practices and court processes. It compares the policy, legal and court contexts in the USA and England, showing that what might appear at first sight a local initiative actually relates to a much wider, long-lasting and international debate about how to reach important decisions about children in a reasonable timescale. The paper concludes that there will always be, and must always be, tensions between the courts, national government and local welfare agencies. The pilot shows that greater speed can be achieved by a concerted effort from all the agencies, but at the same time the division of powers and responsibilities is a bedrock for protecting individual rights in liberal democratic societies. Welfare and legal practitioners alike need to appreciate this tension in child protection policy and practice, and resist recrimination when there are differences of opinion. Knowing that other countries face the same challenges can help to promote a more realistic and sophisticated understanding of the dilemmas and the implications for practice, and so help to bring about better decisions for children. (Publisher abstract)
The paradox of inter-country adoption: analysing Romania’s experience as a sending country
- Author:
- DICKENS Jonathan
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 11(1), January 2002, pp.76-83.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article explores the effects of inter-country adoption on the development of in-country services to protect children and support families in Romania. The country’s child care legislation gives formal priority to domestic alternatives to institutional care – preventive services, family reunification, foster care and in-country adoption. Despite this, inter-country adoption continues to play a central role in Romania’s child welfare system. The article analyses the multiple and complex factors at policy and practice levels that lie behind this situation. It is concluded that whilst inter-country adoption may be used to secure some resources for the development of in-country services, it paradoxically undermines the effectiveness of those services for the children who are left behind.
Developing alternatives to residential care in Romania
- Authors:
- DICKENS Jonathan, WATTS Julia
- Journal article citation:
- Adoption and Fostering, 20(3), Autumn 1996, pp.8-13.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Compared to Western Europe, Romania has a very high proportion of children in residential care. Most of these children live in the type of large institutions, erroneously labelled as 'orphanages', which featured so prominently in Western media coverage of the country immediately after the 1989 overthrow of President Ceausescu. The authors talk about work they have been doing with the Romanian Orphanage Trust since October 1994.
Attitudes to child care reform in Romania: findings from a survey of Romanian social workers
- Authors:
- DICKENS Jonathan, SERGHI Catalin
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 3(3), November 2000, pp.247-260.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper presents the findings of a survey of Romanian social workers' attitudes towards two keys aspects of a child and family social work in their country: namely, the development of foster care, and the regulation of inter-country adoption. Major changes to the law on these matters were introduced in Romania in 1997, and the paper links the research findings with discussion of the progress,
Protecting the rights of the child in Romania: children's rights perspectives on Romania's 1997 child care reforms
- Author:
- DICKENS Jonathan
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 2(2), July 1999, pp.139-150.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article analyses the reforms to Romania's child care legislation introduced in 1997. It uses two perspectives on children's rights to link the changes to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It then considers the way in which the discourse of children's rights has been used to justify changes to the law on inter-country adoption. Highlights the vulnerability
Family support in Romania and the UK: different circumstances, similar challenges
- Author:
- DICKENS Jonathan
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Society, 13(3), June 1999, pp.155-166.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Offers reflections on the challenges of refocusing child care and family social work services towards family support in Romania and the UK. It analyses the major reforms to Romania's child care legislation introduced in 1997. The ways in which intercountry adoption undermines the development of family support services are given particular attention.