Legal Custody Research Articles

The repeal of Australia’s problematic family law presumption (and other amendments): cautiously welcomed – but what has been lost?

ABSTRACT Felicity Kaganas was intrigued by the legal concept of presumptions. She explored the presumption in the family law of England and Wales before and after its introduction in 2014. The presumption which began operating in the Australian Family Law Act 1975 (FLA) in 2006 stated that ‘equal shared parental responsibility’ (‘joint legal custody’ or guardianship) is in the best interests of children and created a legislative link between the making of such an order to shared parenting time orders. Many subsequent reviews of the FLA recommended amending the presumption, if not repealing it, but no changes were made. Meantime in England and Wales a less intrusive presumption was introduced, together with a Practice Direction intended to limit its over-use. Then in 2023 major changes to the FLA in Australia were introduced, including repealing the presumption. They became operative in May 2024. This article explores their potential to better protect parents and children who have experienced family violence. It also examines the potential consequences of the repeal of sections that provided guideposts when making shared care orders and others that rendered the past caring for children relevant. These losses could be detrimental to mothers and children who have lived with domestic and family violence or abuse.

Are child custody evaluations beneficial to family law judges? A study from the judicial perspective

AbstractThere is a long history of dissension among legal and mental health professionals about the value of child custody evaluations. Despite frequent use by the courts, the lack of adequate empirical research impedes the ability to validate the efficacy of child custody evaluations. This study investigated the overall value of court‐ordered child custody evaluations by surveying a diverse, national sample of judges to gather data regarding the usefulness, and validity of child custody evaluations. Two hundred and sixty‐eight judges from 42 states completed an anonymous survey. The results indicated that judges find information voiced by the child in question, data obtained from the parent–child observations, and collateral data obtained about the litigants as most useful. Survey findings suggested judges perceived there to be a shortage of trained evaluators and also consider child custody evaluations too expensive and too time‐consuming. Overall, judges find child custody evaluations useful and clearly desire experts to include recommendations on legal custody and parenting time schedules in their reports.

Intimate partner violence screening for separating or divorcing parents: An introduction to the Mediator's Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns‐Short (MASIC‐S)

AbstractIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a leading cause of separation and/or divorce. IPV may not stop after separation, as parents who use IPV can continue intruding in the lives of parents who experience IPV due to unsafe parenting arrangements that allow continued frequent contact and thus risk further abuse. Therefore, it is critical that separating/divorcing parents be assessed for IPV and ongoing safety concerns. Parenting arrangements (e.g., physical and legal custody, parenting time) may not include the appropriate protections if IPV has not been uncovered and/or considered. Unfortunately, many existing IPV screens for family court processes have limitations. The Mediator's Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns‐Short (MASIC‐S) was designed to address these limitations. Results from the MASIC‐S may be used to inform and create parenting arrangements in the best interest of the child. We provide recommendations on how MASIC‐S results can guide family court practitioners in parenting arrangement disputes. These recommendations are based on the existing literature and guidelines regarding the relationship between parenting arrangements and child‐wellbeing following separation/divorce in the context of IPV. We also discuss areas in which additional research is needed to help determine parenting arrangements most suitable for separating/divorcing parents with a history of IPV.

Interaksi Sosial Remaja Pasca Rehabilitasi Narkoba di Nagari Paninjauan Kecamatan X Koto, Kabupaten Tanah Datar

Social interaction is something that teenagers need. Driven by high curiosity, this often leads to negative impacts such as drug abuse. One of the cases occurred in Nagari Paninjauan, a teenager finally fell into legal custody to go through the rehabilitation process. Even though they have been responsible for their actions, society's view of teenagers is still considered bad, causing gaps in their social interactions, so this is very interesting to research. The aim of this research is to find out the background and interactions of teenagers before they are introduced to drugs and to find out the form of their interactions after drug rehabilitation. This study used descriptive qualitative method. Data collection was carried out through observation and interviews with an informant. Based on the results of this research, it is known that informants who initially interacted actively in society, were ultimately influenced by their friendship environment to consume and sell drugs. However, after serving a sentence and training for five years and three months, the informant still received bad views from the public. Currently, the form of interaction that teenagers have is accommodation. Existing conditions also cause teenagers to tend to be passive in interacting with society. Thus, researchers suggest to informants to open themselves up and try to develop their potential so that society's view of them changes.

Accelerated Fentanyl Metabolism During Pregnancy and Impact on Prenatal Drug Testing.

To evaluate the metabolic pattern of illicit fentanyl in a sample of pregnant patients with opioid use disorder. Fentanyl pharmacokinetics during pregnancy are currently understudied yet the interpretation of a fentanyl immunoassay during pregnancy has significant implications on maternal legal custody and child welfare. Through this medical-legal lens, we demonstrate the utility of an emerging metric, the metabolic ratio, for accurate analysis of fentanyl pharmacokinetics during pregnancy. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using the electronic medical records of 420 patients receiving integrated prenatal and opioid use disorder care at a large urban safety net hospital. Data related to maternal health and substance use were collected for each subject. The metabolic ratio was calculated for each subject to measure their rate of metabolism. The sample's (n = 112) metabolic ratios were compared with a large non-pregnant sample (n = 4366). The metabolic ratios of our pregnant sample were significantly (p = .0001) higher than the metabolic ratios of our non-pregnant sample, indicating that the rate of conversion to the major metabolite was faster in pregnant people. The effect size for this difference between the pregnant and non-pregnant sample was large (d = 0.86). Our findings characterize the unique metabolic pattern of fentanyl in pregnant people who use opioids, providing guidance for institutional policies around fentanyl drug testing. Additionally, our study warns of misinterpretation of toxicology results and stresses the importance of physician advocacy on behalf of pregnant women who use illicit opioids.

Monetarni kredibilitet kao društvena vrednost u savremenom monetarnom pravu i pravu centralnih banaka

The subject matter of analysis in this paper is the concept of monetary credibility and its important place in the normative framework of contemporary monetary law. The emphasis on the importance of credibility in public monetary management has been present as a basic axiological subordinate to the norms of monetary law since it was established as an independent and independent branch of the legal order. The content and direction of the monetary activities of the central bank, as the basic subject of monetary law, were mixed over time and adapted to new circumstances, which resulted in the expansion of the regulatory competences of the central bank, the emergence of new theories about the legal custody of money and establishing limits of legal responsibility in the work of monetary agents. Notably, the meaning of credibility has remained the same, being the final monetary legal thought of each epoch, the ideal and the ultimate purpose of this branch of law with all its institutes, principles and categories. Contemporary monetary law, which has sui generis legal sources, proves to be extremely flexible even in today's unstable social conditions and suitable for transformation into the law of necessity. In extraordinary circumstances, when it is required in a value context, it does not make credibility the primordial value of public management of every institution. Thus, the central bank remains in the central position.

Development and validation of a predictive risk model for runaway among youth in child welfare

Existing predictive risk models in child welfare tend to focus on child protection and prevention of youth’s entry to the child welfare system. Less explored is the potential contribution of predictive risk models to improve the care and meet the placement needs of youth in the child welfare system. This study demonstrated how an empirical model predicted youth’s risk for running away from child welfare placement to inform preventive interventions for youth in care. We used administrative data on youth’s demographic, child welfare, and clinical characteristics to develop a Cox proportional-hazards model. The model predicted time-to-first runaway among 8,255 legal custody spells of 12- to 17-years-olds in the care of the public child welfare agency of one large Midwestern state over an eight-year period. We validated the model internally using 200 bootstrap resamples from the development sample, and externally using a more recent, but smaller sample of 1,836 legal custody spells for youth whose information was not used to develop the model. Internal validation indicated stable predictor estimates, significant predictors that corroborate with relevant empirical literature on runaway, and strong discriminative ability and prediction accuracy (bias-adjusted c-statistic = 0.78). Through external validation, we demonstrated one preventive application of the model by predicting the risk of running away within the first 90 days of a legal custody spell. The model maintained the expected relationships between model-based predicted risks of runaway and actual runaway, as evidenced by accuracy metrics of precision and recall. We conclude by describing how child welfare agencies can apply predictive risk models such as ours to identify youth’s placement needs and estimate system capacity to prevent runaway.

Parenting Attitudes and Abusive Parenting among Incarcerated Mothers in Japan.

The primary focus of this study was to explore the parenting attitudes that predict abusive parenting among incarcerated mothers in Japan. Data analyzed on 63 incarcerated mothers who had the legal custody of the youngest child revealed that belief in corporal punishment significantly predicted abusive parenting. The data further revealed that the impact of adverse childhood experiences and the parenting style of an intimate partner remained significant in predicting the risk of abusive parenting. These multiple risk factors affecting child abuse perpetration indicate the need to develop a multi-dimensional intervention in prison settings to address those multiple issues.

PELAKSANAAN HAK ASUH BERSAMA TERHADAP ANAK DI BAWAH UMUR : ANALISIS NORMA HUKUM

Regarding child custody after divorce, Indonesia adheres to a sole custody system with reference to the Compilation of Islamic Law. However, in recent years the Religious Courts have implemented a shared custody system which refers to the Marriage Law and the Child Protection Act as considerations by taking into account the best interests of the child. This paper tries to examine comparatively the legal basis governing joint custody rights for minors. The method used in this research is a qualitative research with a normative juridical approach which is described in an analytical descriptive manner. In this paper, the hierarchical theory of laws and regulations is used, namely the laws and regulations set by the state, so the lower provisions must not conflict with the higher provisions. The results of this study indicate that the concepts used in the implementation of the joint custody system in Indonesia are the concept of physical custody division and the concept of legal custody sharing, with the pattern of distribution of residence time determined by the judge in the Court without prejudice to the value of the best interests of the child. This is a form of transformation of childcare laws that were previously applicable in Indonesia. After a comparison was made on the legal norms governing joint custody of minors, it was found that every statutory regulation governing child custody places legal subjects differently so that it has implications for their legal position. keyword: children, legal custody, Sharing custody system

Legal Responsibility of a Father towards a Child under the Nigerian Child’s Right Act of 2003

A father, as the parent of a child, maybe a biological, foster, adoptive, stepfather, or even a grandfather. He may also be the one who has legal custody of the child and may or may not be resident in the same state as the child. In essence, anyone can father a child, but it does not end there because every father has an important role to play in a child’s life. Fathers are specifically assigned legal responsibilities toward their children. This ranges from the provision of physical and mental support to psychological and financial support, among others. Unfortunately, in recent times, the role of fathers is fast becoming an abandoned trend with several fathers not living up to their legal responsibilities. The aim of this research is to examine whether there are legal obligations of a father toward a child under the Child’s Right Act. This research discovered that there are legal obligations for fathers as imposed by the law. However, some fathers fail to fulfil their responsibilities towards their children despite the provisions of the law. This research adopts the doctrinal research methodology.

Single parenthood, the non-residential parent and co-parenting in Swedish daily news

ABSTRACT Since the 1960s, Swedish family policies have encouraged parents to share their parental obligations equally, and in the 1980s joint legal custody became standard after divorce or separation. Mothers as well as fathers are expected to financially provide for the family and to take part in the everyday care and fostering of the child. This study explores how single parenthood, non-residential parents and co-parenting play out and become conventionalized in daily news in this national context. The material consists of articles that mention single parenthood and “the other parent” from the four most widely read newspapers published in the period 2010–2019. The analytical focus has been on the written language and what is spelled out, alluded to or ignored, and dominant and less dominant representations. The results show that there are contrasting depictions of mothers and fathers. While the mother as a single parent, co-parent and non-residential parent overall is represented as good and attentive, the father is more of a split figure. He recurrently comes across as absent and negligent as the non-residential parent, but as committed and involved as the primary parent or co-parent with joint residential custody.

Informal kinship caregivers’ parenting experience

The study explored parenting experiences of informal kinship caregivers who were not currently involved with the public child welfare system. Forty-one informal kinship caregivers participated in an anonymous survey that inquired about their demographic information and parenting experiences. The majority of participants were African American grandmothers in their 50s with a high school diploma and annual household income below $50,000. Approximately 70% of the participants had legal custody of a related child in their care, and were committed to providing a long-term or permanent placement for the child. While financial hardship was the most common challenge participants reported, only 37% of them received governmental assistance. Other challenges included children’s medical and mental health issues, and childcare. Despite these challenges, the majority of participants (82.9%) perceived their kinship caregiving experience as positive or very positive. Forty-two percent of participants acknowledged the bidirectional nature of their relationship with related children. Another positive experience noted was children’s growth and safety. These findings illustrate both common and diverse parenting experiences of informal kinship caregivers. They also highlight limited resources available and accessible for this population. The implications of the study findings are discussed.

Acceptance Commitment Therapy Intervention for Custodial Grandfamilies: A Virtual Implementation

Custodial grandfamilies often face challenges, such as psychological distress, parenting burden, and grandchildren showing internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Given their circumstances, effective training and education is critical to provide a supportive family environment for both custodial grandparents and custodial grandchildren. The aim of this study was to develop, pilot and evaluate a psychosocial intervention for custodial grandfamilies. The program, interACT, was implemented virtually due to restrictions related to COVID-19. It is an intervention for custodial grandparents (CGPs) and custodial grandchildren (CGC) to improve psychological wellbeing and life skills. Participant eligibility was determined by grandfamilies having Iowa residency and legal guardianship or custody of an 8-12 year old grandchild. The program utilizes the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) framework, focusing on psychological flexibility, acceptance, and psychosocial resilience for CGPs and CGC. The program used techniques such as mindfulness, self-compassion, and decision-making skills. During the pilot program stage, participants were divided into CGPs and CGC groups, and completed self-paced weekly 45 minute long modules through a program website. To enhance online session experience, Extension staff facilitated hour-long Zoom calls to discuss module contents and foster peer connection for both groups. Findings will be available at the conclusion of the pilot program. We expect to find increased psychological well-being and improved life skills for both groups right after the implementation of the ACT. Findings and limitations will be discussed with practical implication for program implementation via virtual delivery for the current custodial families. Future studies could extend current curriculum to other populations.

Mariela Muñoz

Abstract Mariela Muñoz became the first transsexual widely socially recognized as a mother in Argentina. She emerged as a leading figure during her struggle to recover legal custody of three of her children, which had been previously annulled by a judge. Moreover, in 1997 she became the first transsexual recognized as a woman by the state. This text analyzes the making of Mariela Muñoz's motherhood repertoires to redefine political, social, and intimate citizenship. It argues that her politics were paradoxical, in that she appealed to traditional meanings of womanhood such as fulfilment through motherhood and the duty of care for others. On the other hand, these uses of key cultural symbols displaced the imagined margins for travestis and transexuales and helped her enjoy popular support.

Custody of Digital Assets

The custody of digital assets plays an essential role in the evolution of the digital asset industry. Fully compliant legal custody solutions for digital assets increase legal certainty and mainstream investor confidence which, in turn, helps build markets in digital assets. Once digital asset markets evolved, self-custody solutions help increase the decentralization of the digital asset market. This article examines the evolving custody solutions for digital assets.

Beethovens Auseinandersetzung um die Vormundschaft über seinen Neffen Karl aus historischer und soziologischer Perspektive

This article investigates from a historical and sociological perspective, Beethoven's struggle for the guardianship of his nephew, Karl, from November 1815 until September 1820. Its purpose is to illuminate Beethoven's knowledge and actions in the case of guardianship against the backdrop of contemporary historical and sociological conditions. In the early nineteenth century guardianship meant most certainly more than just the acceptance of legal custody of a minor; rather it was understood as an expression of the public recognition of talent, assets and social standing, as well as of character and honor. It furthermore functioned as an indicator of social status and position. Of great significance were also aspects of the position of legal guardian, the types of disputes with relatives, matters of family politics, the societal roles of fathers, issues of child-rearing, perceptions of status and rank, the traditional construction of gender difference and, lastly, norms of sexual behavior. The article reads Beethoven's letters and statements against the guardianship provisions of the Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch and contemporary legal practice, and argues that his struggle for Karl's guardianship was motivated by his ideas about social advancement through education as well as gendered norms of good parenthood.

The experience of domestic violence survivors in the US family courts: gender bias in the court

There is a significant body of research on gender bias against women in the family courts. During the Covid-19 pandemic, battered women's vulnerability to domestic violence increased on a global level as women experienced a significant increase in the severity of abuse. The problems of gender bias and the treatment of battered women and their children have a long history of human rights' abuses. In particular, battered mothers have been the focus of gender-biased theories of parental alienation, used as a defence against claims of abuse and child maltreatment, despite a lack of empirical validity and acceptance. Additionally, the family courts in the United States are closed to the public and as a result there is a lack of transparency and accountability. A large-scale national study revealed that many supporting mental health professionals who provide custody evaluations lack a formal graduate education in domestic violence and child maltreatment. Furthermore, legislative presumptions that favour joint legal custody in custody decisions and requirements of co-parenting, fail to take into consideration the long-term public health risks of such chronic traumatic exposure. Finally, this article will address needed systemic reforms that include increased transparency, longterm court-monitoring, and supporting mental health professionals with formal graduate education in trauma, child development, and abuse, to promote resilience in vulnerable families.

Tell Me Who You Pray For, and Justice Will Guarantee Your Rights—Or Not

ABSTRACT In this essay, an iyalorixá describes how she temporarily lost legal custody of her son because of her affiliation with Candomblé. The author's ordeal represents a disturbing trend to limit or terminate the parental rights of devotees of Africana religions in Brazil and other parts of the world.

Sex workers as mothers: Correlates of engagement in sex work to support children.

Globally, most female sex workers (FSW) are mothers but are rarely considered as such in public health and social service programs and research. We aimed to quantitatively describe FSW who are mothers and to examine correlates of current engagement in sex work to support children among a cohort of FSW in Baltimore, Maryland, United States (U.S.). The study utilized baseline survey and HIV/STI testing data from the Sex workers And Police Promoting Health In Risky Environments (SAPPHIRE) study of women engaged in street-based sex work in Baltimore, Maryland. Variable selection and interpretation were guided by Connell's theory of Gender and Power. We used bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to examine correlates of engagement in sex work to support children among FSW mothers. Our sample included 214 FSW with children, of whom 27% reported supporting children as a reason for the current engagement in sex work. Median age was 36 years, and mean number of children was 2.88. 20.6% were currently living with any of their minor aged children, and this was significantly more common among mothers engaged in sex work to support children (57.9% vs. 7%; p<0.001). 38.7% had ever lost legal custody of children, which was significantly less common among those supporting children through sex work (26.8% vs. 42.9%; p=0.033). In multivariate analyses, the following were independently associated with engaging in sex work to support children: African-American versus white race (aOR=2.62; 95% CI:1.18-5.82; p=0.018); less housing instability (aOR=0.42; 95% CI:0.20-0.89; p=0.024); initiating sex work at age <23 (aOR=2.59; 95% CI:1.23-5.46; p=0.012); less frequent intoxication during sex with clients (aOR=0.31; 95% CI:0.14-0.67; p=0.003); and reporting mental health as most important health concern (aOR=2.37; 95% CI:1.09-5.17; p=0.029). FSW mothers who report engagement in sex work to support children are distinct from their counterparts in key areas related to HIV and other health outcomes. Neglecting to account for this important social role may lead to missed opportunities to meaningfully promote physical and mental health and to engage women on their own terms. Future research and interventions should seek to address FSW as whole social beings and center their experiences and needs as mothers.

Using machine learning to predict paediatric 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions: a case-control retrospective analysis of medical records, including written discharge documentation.

Objectives To assess whether adding clinical information and written discharge documentation variables improves prediction of paediatric 30-day same-hospital unplanned readmission compared with predictions based on administrative information alone. Methods A retrospective matched case-control study audited the medical records of patients discharged from a tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia (WA) between January 2010 and December 2014. A random selection of 470 patients with unplanned readmissions (out of 3330) were matched to 470 patients without readmissions based on age, sex, and principal diagnosis at the index admission. Prediction utility of three groups of variables (administrative, administrative and clinical, and administrative, clinical and written discharge documentation) were assessed using standard logistic regression and machine learning. Results Inclusion of written discharge documentation variables significantly improved prediction of readmission compared with models that used only administrative and/or clinical variables in standard logistic regression analysis (χ2 17=29.4, P=0.03). Highest prediction accuracy was obtained using a gradient boosted tree model (C-statistic=0.654), followed closely by random forest and elastic net modelling approaches. Variables highlighted as important for prediction included patients' social history (legal custody or patient was under the care of the Department for Child Protection), languages spoken other than English, completeness of nursing admission and discharge planning documentation, and timing of issuing discharge summary. Conclusions The variables of significant social history, low English language proficiency, incomplete discharge documentation, and delay in issuing the discharge summary add value to prediction models. What is known about the topic? Despite written discharge documentation playing a critical role in the continuity of care for paediatric patients, limited research has examined its association with, and ability to predict, unplanned hospital readmissions. Machine learning approaches have been applied to various health conditions and demonstrated improved predictive accuracy. However, few published studies have used machine learning to predict paediatric readmissions. What does this paper add? This paper presents the findings of the first known study in Australia to assess and report that written discharge documentation and clinical information improves unplanned rehospitalisation prediction accuracy in a paediatric cohort compared with administrative data alone. It is also the first known published study to use machine learning for the prediction of paediatric same-hospital unplanned readmission in Australia. The results show improved predictive performance of the machine learning approach compared with standard logistic regression. What are the implications for practitioners? The identified social and written discharge documentation predictors could be translated into clinical practice through improved discharge planning and processes, to prevent paediatric 30-day all-cause same-hospital unplanned readmission. The predictors identified in this study include significant social history, low English language proficiency, incomplete discharge documentation, and delay in issuing the discharge summary.