Care Proceedings Research Articles

Connecting Events in Time to Identify a Hidden Population: Birth Mothers and Their Children in Recurrent Care Proceedings in England

Thereisinternationalconcernaboutthepopulationofbirthmotherswhoexperiencerepeat court-orderedremovalofchildren.Thisarticlereportsthefindingsfromapopulationprofilingstudythatprovidesthefirstpictureofthescaleofwomen’srepeatinvolvementinpublic law proceedings inEngland.Based onnational recordsfrom the Childrenand FamilyCourt Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass)(n ¼ 43,541birth mothers, 2007–14), twosubsets of mother, child and legal proceedings data were created. The aims of the study were to:(i) produce a descriptive profile of recurrent cases, (ii) estimate the probability and timing of recurrence and (iii)examine the relationship between maternalage and recurrence. Quantitative analysis comprised descriptive statistics for profiling purposes and methods of survival analysis to estimate probabilities. Findings indicate that the family justice system recyclesasizeablepercentageofwomen (24percent)throughrepeatepisodesofcare proceedings, with young women aged sixteen to nineteen years most at risk of recurrence. Implications for social workers and the family courts are outlined with reference to new innovations in England.

Factors that influence engagement in pre-proceedings practice: presenting the roles of professionals working within the family justice system through personal narratives

Public discourse around changes introduced as part of a drive to tackle spending on welfare, reflect a less than tolerant attitude towards welfare generally, but more specifically towards parents who require state involvement to care safely for their children. The introduction of a deadline of 26 weeks for the completion of care proceedings, together with a clear steer to resolve disputes wherever possible prior to making an application to court has introduced further instrumental approaches to working with parents. In this paper we explore practitioner experiences and understandings of working within the new legislative frameworks and consider the dominant cultural narratives they are working within. However, in some cases professionals felt able to challenge the economic narrative of the pre-proceedings protocol, and they experienced the legal and policy changes as an opportunity to engage in a helping alliance with families with the provision of support that otherwise they would not have been able to offer.

Parenchymal Brain Laceration as a Predictor of Abusive Head Trauma.

Accurate differentiation of abusive head trauma and accidental head injury in infants and young children is critical and impacts clinical care, patient prognosis, forensic investigations, and medicolegal proceedings. No specific finding seen on cross-sectional brain imaging has been reported to distinguish abusive head trauma from accidental injury. Our study investigated whether a specific imaging finding, parenchymal brain laceration, is unique to children diagnosed with abusive head trauma. We retrospectively identified 137 patients with abusive head trauma and 28 patients who incurred moderate to severe accidental brain injury. Brain MR imaging represented the imaging standard for characterizing intracranial injuries. Among the abusive head trauma cohort, parenchymal brain lacerations were identified in 18 patients, while none were identified in any patients with accidental injury. Our findings are in concurrence with the existing forensic, pathology, and imaging literature, which suggests that parenchymal brain lacerations may be related to abusive injury mechanisms.

Partnership by Law? The Pre-Proceedings Process for Families on the Edge of Care Proceedings

The pre-proceedings process was introduced in 2008 as part of the PLO reforms to care proceedings. Its aim was to divert cases of abuse and neglect from the courts, to ensure local authority applications were better prepared and to reduce the time courts took to decide these cases. Local authorities were required to write a ‘letter before proceedings’ to parents explaining their concerns and invite them to a ‘pre-proceedings meeting’ to discuss how proceedings could be avoided. Legal aid was made available so that parents could have advice and support at this meeting. About the Study: The study, conducted in 6 local authorities in England and Wales, examined the operation and impact of the process through analysing local authority case and court proceedings files (207); interviews with social work managers (16), social workers (19), local authority lawyers (16) and lawyers who represent parents (19); observations of pre-proceedings meetings (36), interviews with parents who attended them (24); and a focus group with judges. Observed cases were followed up 6-18 months after the meeting. The research provides an in depth account of the operation of the pre-proceedings process, including how the parents and professionals experienced it, and its effectiveness in achieving diversion from court and reducing delay for children. Key Points: • Use of the pre-proceedings process varies between local authorities. Those in the study used it in almost all cases where there was time to do so, around half of all cases where care proceedings were started. • A third of pre-proceedings cases involved pre-birth assessments. Meetings were used to agree assessments, services and /or alternative care. • Use of the process was supported by social workers and their managers who saw it as a more respectful way to work with families at risk of care proceedings. • Parents felt supported by having their lawyer at the pre-proceedings meeting; for some this helped them to engage with children’s services and improve care. • The pre-proceedings process did succeed in diverting cases from court. Based on the file sample, about a quarter of cases did not enter care proceedings; in a third of these children were protected by kin care or foster care; and in two-thirds by improvements in care at home. • Care proceedings were not shorter where the pre-proceedings process had been used. Courts did not appear to take particular account of this work. • The pre-proceedings process delayed decisions for children who entered care proceedings. Court applications were delayed by attempts to use the process and sometimes by failure to recognise family care was not improving.

Adoption decisions in England: Re B (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Appeal) and beyond

In Re B (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Appeal) [2013] UKSC 33 the Supreme Court President emphasised that ‘adoption of a child against her parents’ wishes should only be contemplated as a last resort – when all else fails’ because of adoption’s draconian nature. Re B has been cited dozens of times by the lower courts in the short time since it was decided. The aim of this article is to assess whether the influence of Re B is a matter of substance or mere rhetoric.

Just Following Instructions? The Representation of Parents in Care Proceedings

The study, conducted in 4 court areas in England and Wales, explored the work of lawyers representing parents in care proceedings through observation of hearings (109); interviews with legal professionals involved in care proceedings (61); and focus groups with solicitors, barristers, judges and magistrates’ legal advisers. Sixteen cases, selected to reflect the different circumstances where care proceedings are brought, were followed from an early hearing to completion of the proceedings, with a researcher shadowing a parent’s representative in discussions with their client, with the other parties’ lawyers and in the courtroom. The study provides an in depth account of the task of representation and court processes in care proceedings.The report provides detailed findings on the culture in child protection (dependency) proceedings in England and Wales in 2008-9; the ethos of professionals working in care proceedings and its impact on their work; the lawyers undertaking this work and the practice of representation, including the impact of public funding for this work.

The English Children and Families Act 2014

Parts I and II of the Children and Families Act 2014 may appear to make little change to English child law, largely amending existing statutes with provisions of a procedural and evidential flavour. Yet, as this article explains, it is deeply ideological legislation with roots in the Narey Report on adoption and the Family Justice Review. The article examines the background to the legislation and shows how, in the private law, statutory language was used to convey an "official" message concerning the importance of both separating parents remaining "involved" in their children’s lives. This resulted in enactment of a presumption of parental involvement in court decision making, and a more neutral "child arrangements order", replacing the supposed polarising duality of "residence" and "contact" orders with little more than a change of terminology and the disadvantage of greater complexity. The ideology underpinning the public law provisions is to encourage adoption by speeding up the process, getting children through care proceedings as quickly as possible and into adoptive families. This thinking may appear to clash with recent jurisprudence of the higher courts which has emphasised that adoption is a "last resort" in child protection, and that significant human rights issues arise. The analysis highlights a key question, cutting across the public and private law provisions, namely whether the 2014 Act dilutes English law's long-standing commitment to the paramountcy of child welfare.

A short note on research impact: The public value of the social sciences

During the past few months I have been involved in designing an intensive support pathway for pregnant women who have previously lost children to public care or adoption. The new two-year pathway is an initiative within the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) National Unit and is funded by the Department for Education. Co-Directors Sophie Kershaw and Mike Shaw of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London are leading the FDAC National Unit and also steering the development of the new pathway. Aiming to maximize women’s chances of retaining care of a newborn infant, the pathway is based on tailored and timely therapeutic help extending over the course of two years, with the same team of professionals. Both the length of commitment to birth mothers and that help is offered early in pregnancy and will continue whether care proceedings are/are not issued, makes this new initiative unique in England. Drawing on the findings from the first stage of our research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the research team has been able to directly influence the shape of this new pathway, working alongside our practitioner colleagues and a stakeholder group of birth mothers. A group of 10 women who were part of a larger group of 72 mothers participating in the study are now drawn together from across the North, Midlands and from London to help in programme design and evaluation. These women have all experienced court-ordered removal of their own children, but now have a child in their care. The experiences of these women mean that they are uniquely and powerfully positioned to act as advisors to professionals and to serve as mentors for other women who will embark on the new pathway. Working alongside my colleague Claire Mason – lead qualitative researcher – we have experienced this work as social research at its very best. This has been an opportunity to engage in mutually enriching exchange with all stakeholders, to influence practice development for the social good and to pioneer solutions that are democratically designed. So, how did co-design work? A series of workshops were organized. The first workshop focused on loss and excerpts from birth mother interviews were shared

A brief history of psychologists as expert witnesses in family law

The Family Justice Review (2011) has transformed the way expert witnesses are perceived and instructed in family law, meaning that child protection social work professionals are now the designated ‘experts’ responsible for undertaking complex parent, child and family assessments and writing court reports, with independent ‘experts’ (such as clinical psychologists) only being instructed when the case managing judge deems it to be absolutely ‘necessary’. So… have families involved in care proceedings suddenly become less complex, less risky and less likely to suffer from multidimensional problems, which include mental health difficulties and trauma? Or have existing child protection professionals (social workers and guardians) gained a comparable ‘range of knowledge, clinical skills and expertise’ (Brophy, 2006) to allow them to undertake the kinds of expert assessments previously completed by independent psychologists and psychiatrists? This article reviews these essential questions, speculates on the rise in negativity about psychologists as ‘expert witnesses’ and offers some thoughts on how independent psychologists can continue to work for the benefit of the highly vulnerable children and families who are the real customers in family law.

The end game: The marketisation and privatisation of children’s social work and child protection

There is a long history of voluntary and other organisations, along with the state, providing social services for children in England. But crucial assessments and decision-making about the care and protection of children have been undertaken by local authorities within the context of democratic accountability and transparency. This is changing. The government is opening up children’s social work services, including child protection investigations and assessments, decisions about initiating care proceedings in the courts to have children removed from their families, and decisions where children should then live, to the market and to the private sector with companies such as G4S and Serco expanding into children’s social services. Nowhere else in the world are profit-driven companies given these powers. This article traces how this radical change is moving forward at pace.

‘Where nothing else will do’: judicial approaches to adoption in England and Wales

The judicial approach to making an adoption order where birth parents do not give their consent suddenly changed after a UK Supreme Court judgement in mid-2013, which examined the position in the light of the Human Rights Act 1998 – Re B [2013] UKSC 33. This article argues that this case did not set a higher threshold for such an order to be made but confirmed existing domestic and European human rights law. However, the unintended consequences of the judgement were an opportunity for the judiciary to take issue with government policy to increase the rate of adoption and with recent family justice reforms, which have constrained judicial oversight of care proceedings. An unprecedented rate of contested litigation, based on perceived shortcomings in social work assessments and judgements in the lower courts, has caused uncertainty and delays in planning for children, with a slowing in the rate of children being adopted, although with little evidence of any associated benefits for birth parents. It is concluded that the confusion caused for potential adopters and practitioners needs to be resolved, so that timely decision-making for children can be prioritised.

More work is required to achieve 26-week care proceedings target

As Ministry of Justice figures reveal that 44 per cent of family court cases are missing the 26-week duration limit, experts look at this complex issue and assess what can be done to reduce unnecessary system delays

Quality and speed of care proceedings is paramount

Quality and speed of care proceedings is paramount

Applications of the Dynamic‐Maturational Model of Attachment with Children Involved in Care and Family Proceedings

Attachment theory has had a profound influence on our understanding of human relationships. This paper focuses on the application of the Dynamic‐Maturational Model of attachment to children involved in care and family proceedings. It describes the central principles of attachment as developed by Ainsworth et al. (); Bowlby (); Crittenden () and Main (). Attachment patterns are explored and the circumstances under which these various engagement strategies arise. The authors provide two case examples of different insecure attachment styles. They include brief background information, observations about clinical presentation and formulation sections, offering the reader an opportunity to integrate their thinking about how different insecure attachment styles necessitate alternative intervention approaches. The paper highlights the complexity of assessing attachment in different circumstances, and the authors propose that this article should be viewed as a ‘primer’ for helping practitioners to take better account of attachment issues whenever undertaking assessments within the context of child and family proceedings. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.‘The paper highlights the complexity of assessing attachment in different circumstances’Key Practitioner Messages Attachment theory applies to every stage of life. If the baby's care is predictable but not attuned, she learns that thinking protects her and displaying negative emotions endangers her. When the baby's carer is unpredictable and inconsistently attuned, she learns that exaggerating emotions gets results. Mother was unaware that her inconsistency worsened Tammy's behaviour. Anna experienced feelings of self‐blame due to her mother feeling overwhelmed. Assessing attachment can be very complex where a child experiences extended trauma. ‘Assessing attachment can be very complex where a child experiences extended trauma’

Whose expectations? Care orders: towards a relational harm approach in the test of reasonable parental care

This paper presents findings from an empirical study in England and Wales, examining the test of harm in care proceedings under the Children Act 1989. Drawing on free association narrative interviews with young adults who have lived in care, the study presents a case for a presumption of relational harm in the court's finding of unreasonable parental care. Relational harm focuses on the harm for the child caused by the loss of the birth family, once the child is taken into care. Through the lens of a humanistic approach to legal criticism, this paper focuses on the harm for the child arising from the child's experience of the complex and entrenched difficulties that mothers endure. It makes recommendations for an intersubjective approach to assessing harm, such as the impact on the child of the mother's difficulties. This is in the threshold test of harm, the care plan and decisions about contact.

‘It's good to talk’ – judicial allocation decision making and the Family Court

This article focuses on the opportunities and potential benefits of collaborative judicial working and social processes within the new Family Court. To illustrate this, findings from a recent evaluation by the authors of the Greater Manchester Gatekeeping and Allocation – Care Proceedings Pilot (the Manchester Pilot) will be presented. In the Manchester Pilot, the allocation of care cases to a particular level of court became a collaborative judicial decision, to be achieved through consensual decision making. The social processes of face-to-face communication, negotiation, knowing and learning from each other in this new procedure, provide the main area of analysis in this article. Findings from our evaluation illustrate issues and opportunities for the lower courts under the new allocation arrangements within the Family Court, and may in some respects reflect aspects of other research of social processes such as Paterson's studies in the appellate courts.

Handling child care proceedings

Awaz Raoof, international research officer at Coram Children's Legal Centre, takes a look at two recent judgments of the Family Division of the High Court regarding councils' handling of care proceedings

Assessment of Parents within Care Proceedings

Assessment of Parents within Care Proceedings

Solicitors’ experiences of representing parents with intellectual disabilities in care proceedings: attitudes, influence and legal processes

This paper reports on an exploratory study of the role of solicitors acting for parents with intellectual disabilities (ID) in public law proceedings. The paper draws on in-depth interviews with 11 solicitors and a subsequent focus group in which the interview findings were presented and reflected on by six of the eleven participants. Two of the five themes that emerged will be discussed here. They are entitled ‘Attitudes and Influence’ and ‘Legal Processes’ and concern the attitudes and influence of those involved in assessing, supporting and representing parents with ID and the care proceedings processes encountered by parents with ID.

Female genital mutilation and care proceedings

Family judge holds that FGM could meet the “significant harm” and unreasonable parenting tests to initiate care proceedings