Navigating a flawed system: An investigation of the strategies employed by legal teams in family court

Abstract

AbstractFamily courts have been criticized for failing their core mission of rehabilitating families. Structural inequalities embedded in the family court system, combined with the role of adversarial judges and resource constraints, have contributed to the creation of a problematic environment for parents and families. In this paper, we examine the strategies that legal teams (attorneys, legal social workers and parent advocates) employ to serve child welfare‐involved parents in navigating this complex system. Interviews were conducted with 32 participants employed by public defender organizations in a large Northeastern city. We called on thematic analysis to identify three distinct themes: (1) Keeping the Lines of Communication Open (the importance of regular communication between parents and attorneys); (2) Strategic Use of Parent Voice (the intentionality behind when and how parents should speak directly to the judge); and (3) Parents as Chameleons (the grooming of parents to meet certain judicial ideals of parenthood). We identified several strategies to empower child welfare involved parents as they pursue legal permanency for their children: (a) ameliorating communication barriers between parents and their legal team members; (b) preparing parents to amplify their voices in the courtroom; and (c) using more general language to co‐manage parental appearance and presentation.