Suchergebnisse

This commentary notes that the White Paper of the Honoring Families Initiative failed to address how including the child's voice in best interests of the child determinations fits or does not fit into their proposal. To the extent appropriate and possible, the child's preferences and voice should be heard. In addition, the White Paper's emphasis on avoiding the adversarial nature of litigation distracts it from a necessary emphasis that conflict is the enemy of children and that conflict can emanate from one or more of numerous sources, some connected to the court processes and some independent of court. This commentary ends by noting that courts are needed for enforcement of orders and protection, yet they also have much more to do despite the inconvenient truth of dwindling resources. As the figurative and literal head of each community's interdisciplinary team, courts must continue to serve as conflict managers protecting children in high‐conflict families.
Key Points for the Family Court Community
To the extent appropriate and possible, the child's preferences and voice should be included in best interests determinations.
Effective system reform must reduce conflict or protect children from the harmful effects of conflict.
Courts must play an indispensable role in coordinating and facilitating efforts to help children and families in conflict.

In my twenty years experience in social work, my particular interest has always been working with children. I know many of you are from children's homes and I feel very much at home among child-care workers having spent 9 years as social worker at Pallister Girls' Home which was then an 'open' home for Court Committed school girls. I also spent several years in an adoption agency which brought me in touch with unmarried very young girls — children really — and a certain number of older children who were surrendered for adoption.