Search results for ‘Subject term:"child protection"’ Sort:
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Revolution or reform?
- Author:
- SONE Kendra
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 2.5.91, 1991, pp.14-15.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The Scottish children's hearing system has been thrust into the highlight by events in Orkney. They twenty-year old system, designed primarily of offenders rather than child protection will come under judicial scrutiny.
Using parental attachment in family court proceedings: an empirical study of the DMM-AAI
- Authors:
- SPIEKER Susan J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse Review, 30(6), 2021, pp.550-564.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Two methods for classifying Adult Attachment Interviews (AAI) for family court decision-making, Berkeley and DMM, differ in their usefulness for family court. Both expand Ainsworth's three ABC infant categories. The Berkeley method adds a fourth Disorganised/Unresolved category in adulthood, but has low specificity and validity for risk parents. The DMM method identifies an expanding array of strategies across the lifespan, as neurological development makes more complex strategies possible. This study examined DMM-AAI classifications in a sample of 332 British AAIs and compared the results to published meta-analyses of the Berkeley AAI. Six a priori hypotheses addressed the central question raised: which classificatory method for the AAI is more useful for child protection? DMM-AAI classifications differentiated between (i) normative adults, (ii) parents with mental health problems, (iii) parents in family court proceedings and (iv) incarcerated violent criminals on attachment, psychological trauma and pervasively high or low arousal. This paper asserts that the DMM-AAI is sufficiently valid and discriminating for court use and that it can contribute to court decision-making when integrated with other assessments and clinical reports. (Edited publisher abstract)
Squeezing the toothpaste tube: will tackling court delay result in pre-court delay in its place?
- Authors:
- McKEIGUE Bridget, BECKETT Chris
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 40(1), January 2010, pp.154-169.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article is the first to report on a study that tracked all the care proceedings initiated by an English local authority over a one-year period, obtaining factual information and opinions from the social workers involved in the case through the use of guided interviews. The main objective of the researchers was to contribute to understanding of ways in which children are kept waiting in difficult and insecure situations for decisions to be made about their long-term future. This article focuses in particular on the problem of delays that occur prior to a case coming into the court arena. The article offers evidence that current initiatives to reduce court delay may have the unintended result of increasing pre-court delay.
Research review: child care proceedings under the Children Act 1989
- Author:
- BROPHY Julia
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Constitutional Affairs
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 112p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This research review focuses on care proceedings under s.31 of the Children Act 1989 concerning allegations of ill-treatment of children by parents/carers. The review covers larger scale empirical research on care proceedings, primarily but not entirely commissioned by government in the fourteen years following implementation of the Children Act. Key findings include the seriousness of the cases which are brought before the courts. Most parents are highly vulnerable - for example many have mental health problems, drug or alcohol problems - and lead chaotic lifestyles, including violence in the home. Overall findings were more positive than anticipated. A minority of children were not in permanent placements, some changes occurred, but only in about 15% of cases was placement uncertain/unachieved, and most children were in a settled placement within 12 months of the final hearing.
The evaluation of children's hearings in Scotland: volume 1; deciding in children's interests
- Authors:
- HALLETT Christine, et al
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Scottish Office
- Publication year:
- 1998
- Pagination:
- 149p.,tables,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Research study. Explores: reporters' decision making in response to referrals; studies children's hearings through observation of a sample of sixty hearings; and studies the interface between the Children's Hearings system and other key agencies in Scotland.
Referrals of children to reporters and children's hearings 1995-96
- Author:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Scottish Office
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Scottish Office
- Publication year:
- 1997
- Pagination:
- 39p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
Reasonable doubt?
- Author:
- WHITE Richard
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 8.2.96, 1996, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The recent Lords decision in the Nottinghamshire care orders case confirms a central principle in care proceedings, namely, the more serious the allegation the more convincing the evidence must be. But abuse does not need to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Reports on this aspect of child protection law.
Using parental attachment in family court proceedings: DMM theory about the adult attachment interview
- Authors:
- CRITTENDEN Patricia M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse Review, 30(6), 2021, pp.536-549.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Parental attachment refers to the protective and comforting role of parents toward their children. This role has been violated in cases of maltreatment. Understanding the attachment of parents who endanger their children can illuminate the psychological processes behind the harmful behaviour of parents. This paper proposes assessing parental attachment with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), classified according to the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM). The researchers discuss meta-analyses of the ‘gold standard' Berkeley method for extracting AAI information. AAIs of maltreating adults classified with the Berkeley method have an improbably high rate of secure attachment, making it inadequate for family forensic applications. In contrast, the DMM uses a theory-based, developmental expansion of Ainsworth's infant categories to describe a wide array of dimensionally related protective strategies for coping with danger across the lifespan. DMM-AAIs, classified by trained, reliable professionals and integrated with data from other sources to create an individualised family formulation, meet evidentiary requirements. This paper calls for a programme of research of court-involved families comparing DMM-AAI formulations to outcomes of usual methods for determining family services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Courts, care proceedings and outcomes uncertainty: the challenges of achieving and assessing “good outcomes” for children after child protection proceedings
- Authors:
- DICKENS Jonathan, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 24(4), 2019, pp.574-581.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The professed aim of any social welfare or legal intervention in family life is often to bring about “better outcomes for the children.” But there is considerable ambiguity about “outcomes,” and the term is far too often used in far too simplistic a way. This paper draws on empirical research into the outcomes of care proceedings for a randomly selected sample of 616 children in England and Wales, about half starting proceedings in 2009–2010 and the others in 2014–2015. The paper considers the challenges of achieving and assessing “good outcomes” for the children. Outcomes are complex and fluid for all children, whatever the court order. One has to assess the progress of the children in the light of their individual needs and in the context of “normal” child development, and in terms of the legal provisions and policy expectations. A core paradox is that some of the most uncertain outcomes are for children who remain with or return to their parents; yet law and policy require that first consideration is given to this option. Greater transparency about the uncertainty of outcomes is a necessary step towards better understanding the risks and potential benefits of care proceedings. (Publisher abstract)
What social workers talk about when they talk about child care proceedings in the District Court in Ireland
- Authors:
- BURNS Kenneth, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 23(1), 2018, pp.113-121.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Court proceedings are a fundamental and increasingly time‐consuming aspect of social work practice. However, to date, there is a relatively modest body of literature considering the experiences of social workers in instituting child care proceedings and giving evidence in court. This paper draws on data gathered as part of an in‐depth qualitative study of professional experiences of District Court child care proceedings in Ireland and presents findings regarding the experiences of social workers in bringing court applications for child protection orders. It seeks to answer 2 key questions: First, how do child protection and welfare social workers experience the adversarial nature of child care proceedings in the District Court? Second, what are the views of child protection and welfare social workers on the strengths and weaknesses of child care proceedings as a decision‐making model for children and young people? The main findings are that social workers expressed significant reservations about the predominantly adversarial model that currently operates in Irish child care proceedings and about the level of respect that social workers are afforded within the operation of the system. (Edited publisher abstract)