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ToolsMasson, Judith, Dickens, Jonathan, Bader, Kay, Garside, Ludivine and Young, Julie (2017) Achieving positive change for children? Reducing the length of child protection proceedings: lessons from England and Wales. Adoption and Fostering, 41 (4). pp. 401-413. ISSN 0308-5759
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Abstract
Court decisions are required to remove children, compulsorily, from their families, and approve permanent care arrangements which restrict or terminate parents’ rights. The children involved are mostly young, have experienced serious abuse or neglect and may require permanent placement away from their parent(s) for their remaining childhoods. In England and Wales, justice to parents has dominated the rhetoric about these proceedings; this has resulted in lengthy proceedings, long periods of uncertainty for children and reduced placement options. In order to reduce delays, reforms in England and Wales have set a time limit for the completion of care proceedings. The Children and Families Act 2014 limits proceedings to 26 weeks; approximately 60% of care proceedings are now completed within this period. This article will discuss the impact of these reforms on decision-making for children, questioning whether they achieve both good decisions for children and justice for families. It uses the findings of an ESRC-funded study: ‘Establishing outcomes of care proceedings for children before and after care proceedings reform (2015–2018)’.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | child protection,court proceedings,law reform,justice,outcomes |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Child Protection & Family Support Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families |
| Depositing User: | Pure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Dec 2017 06:06 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Jun 2023 13:13 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/65679 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0308575917730007 |
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