Search results for ‘Subject term:"vulnerable children"’ Sort:
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The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 10 years on: the resource demands of legislative change
- Authors:
- DONALDSON Theresa, HARBISON Jeremy
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 12(3), July 2006, pp.299-308.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
In the paper “A Fairer Deal For Legal Aid” (2005), the Department of Constitutional Affairs poses the question: Are we ensuring that system resources are used in the “most proportionate, efficient, effective and timely way to ensure the best possible outcomes for children and families?” This paper argues that the issue of effective use of system resources is equally applicable to Northern Ireland. It discusses the expectation that the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 implemented on 4 November 1996 would deliver a re-balancing of the relationship between the State and the family, with emphasis on prevention and early intervention and with less demand for crisis-orientated services. The statistical evidence generated by agencies involved in Children Order proceedings suggests that this expectation was not met. The statistics on the number and length of Care Order applications suggest the use of compulsion has increased and, it is argued here, that the result of this is that the resource demands of the legal process affecting all of the agencies that support this process have also increased. It is also argued that by continuing to direct resources toward the legal process, the availability of resources for early intervention and for the prevention of cases coming before the court in the first place is reduced.
Safe from harm
- Author:
- ELLINOR Rebecca
- Journal article citation:
- Care and Health Magazine, 4.02.04, 2004, pp.6-9.
- Publisher:
- Care and Health
Looks at a recent legal judgement where Angela Cannings had convictions of murdering two of her baby sons quashed. Asks whether tightening the standard of proof required in child protection cases may leave more young people at risk.
Family law gets faster
- Author:
- LEPPER Joe
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Young People Now, 2.4.08, 2008, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- Haymarket Business Publications Ltd
The Public Law Outline, a new system for taking children into care is being implemented in England a and Wales. It is a way of managing family court cases which aims to cut delays and tailor the legal process to better meet the individual needs of children. The author discusses how it will work in practice.
Emergency protection, good practice and human rights
- Author:
- MASSON Judith
- Journal article citation:
- Family Law, 34(12), December 2004, pp.882-887.
- Publisher:
- Jordan
Discusses the use of emergency protection orders (EPOs) and a recent court decision holding that it was not appropriate to challenge, by judicial review, a local authority decision to seek an EPO in the context of current practice. Describes the case in detail and discusses European Court of Human Rights decisions and Children Act 1989 provisions.
Waiting for court decisions: a kind of limbo
- Author:
- BECKETT Chris
- Journal article citation:
- Adoption and Fostering, 24(2), Summer 2000, pp.55-62.
- Publisher:
- Sage
One of the specific objectives of the Children Act 1989 was to reduce the duration of care proceedings, since it was recognised that a long period of uncertainty was likely to be harmful to children. But care proceedings have in fact been increasing steadily in length since the Act was implemented in 1991. The author presents the evidence for this, reviews the available literature on the possible reasons and suggests that further attention needs to be given to the effect on children of such delays, which could be considered a form of 'system abuse'
Factors associated with completion of the restraining order process in female victims of partner violence
- Authors:
- ZOELLNER Lori A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15(10), October 2000, pp.1081-1099.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Thousands of women in the USA each year initiate the process of obtaining a restraining order against a violent partner. Although many women request an emergency restraining order, many fail to return to obtain a final 1-year order. This study examines factors associated with completion of this process. Sixty-five women who initiated the process of securing a restraining order against a male partner participated in the study. Women who indicated an attachment to the abusive partner were less likely to complete the process. Perceived threat to the women facilitated persistence with the process; however, when the threat involved her children, women were less likely to persist. Unfortunately factors influencing persistence in help seeking, especially attachment and threat, is a crucial step toward enhancing interventions to facilitate efforts toward violence-free lives.
Representation and participation in child care proceedings: what about the voice of the parents?
- Authors:
- O'MAHONY Conor, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 38(3), 2016, pp.302-322.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In Ireland, the Constitution guarantees very strong rights to parents and the family, and there has been a long and unfortunate history of failures to adequately protect children at risk. As a result, there has been much discussion in recent years about the need to improve legal mechanisms designed to protect the rights of children. By comparison, little attention has been given to establishing whether the theoretically strong rights of parents translate into strongly protected rights in practice. This paper presents new empirical evidence on the manner in which child care proceedings in Ireland balance the rights and interests of children and parents, including the rates at which orders are granted, the frequency of and conditions in which legal representation is provided, and the extent to which parents are able to actively participate in proceedings. A number of systemic issues are identified that restrict the capacity of the system to emphasise parental rights and hear the voice of parents to the extent that would be expected when looking at the legal provisions in isolation. (Publisher abstract)
Reporting to court under the Children Act: a handbook for social services
- Author:
- COOPER Penny
- Publisher:
- Stationery Office
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 116p.
- Place of publication:
- London
- Edition:
- 2nd
The Children Act 1989 introduced a new approach to presenting and communicating information in court proceedings. Giving evidence or writing a report for court is a specialist skill that cannot be acquired through general social work experience. The handbook contains step-by-step advice, examples and checklists designed to help those preparing local authority statements and reports under the Act. Covered in detail are: preparation, time-tabling and liaison with others in the court process; the requirements of specific public and private law applications; the content of local authority statements and reports; contact and care plans; and giving evidence at court.
Review of the child care proceedings system in England and Wales
- Authors:
- GREAT BRITAIN. Department for Constitutional Affairs, GREAT BRITAIN. Department for Education and Skills, WALES. Welsh Assembly Government
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Constitutional Affairs
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 39p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The review acknowledges the crucial role child care lawyers play in protecting vulnerable children, and does not propose changes to the availability of public funding for or the level of legal representation of any of the parties to proceedings. It also recognises the complexities of care cases and the range of factors which impact on care proceedings and that there is ‘no quick fix' to improve the system.
The threat to care proceedings
- Author:
- JOCKELSON David
- Journal article citation:
- Family Law, 35, November 2005, pp.891-893.
- Publisher:
- Jordan
The government is proposing a review of the whole system of child protection and care proceedings in England and Wales. The proposals can be found in the document 'A Fairer Deal for Legal Aid' published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. The suggestions propose a transfer of power in child care cases from the process of the court to decisions and actions made by more social workers and local authorities. The proposals also include an increased use of voluntary accommodation - a system where parents are persuaded by social workers to place children into voluntary care. The author discusses the proposals and makes suggestions of other ways to improve existing care proceedings.