scholarly journals The best interests of the child: More questions about this construct?

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Ainsworth
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Alternative Interventions ◽  
International Child ◽  
The Us ◽  
Abuse And Neglect

In this article I examine the best interests of the child construct and raise questions about the utility of the construct. I also draw attention to Winnicott’s good enough parenting proposal as an alternative conceptualisation that addresses the issue of parental child-rearing capacity.The best interests construct that emanates from the US has been the dominant international child-protection paradigm for at least two decades. Associated with this construct is a focus on individual parental pathology and child-rearing deficits. Yet, family poverty is the dominant factor, rather than parental pathology or incapacity, that precipitates many child abuse and neglect cases. The question is, has the best interests construct, one that ignores poverty and social disadvantage, outlived its usefulness? This construct has certainly affected Aboriginal families and led, as evidence shows, to the over-removal of children from these families. A range of alternative interventions and a social model of child protection is then canvassed.

scholarly journals When is Enough Enough? The Burgeoning Cost of Child Protection Services

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Ainsworth ◽  
Patricia Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Young People ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Vulnerable Families ◽  
Abuse And Neglect

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that at 31 December 2011 there were 5,098,694 children and young people in Australia under the age of 18 years, while for the period 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report on child protection indicates that there were 48,420 substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect in Australia. The likelihood is that almost 95 (94.96) per cent of Australian children and young people were not abused or neglected in that period; and this is a cause for national celebration. These figures are good reason to praise the parents and caregivers of the 5,050,274 children who were not abused or neglected. We argue that there is a need for an emphasis in the political debate about child protection that focuses on children who are not abused, in order for the issue of child abuse and neglect to be placed in proper perspective. The lack of perspective in the current dialogue simply results in an unending demand for more resources for detection-focused services. Instead, there has to be increased emphasis on preventative services for vulnerable families who fail to meet community child-rearing standards. These exacting standards of parenting can only be achieved through parent education and the provision of intensive and extensive family support services, combined with sensitive monitoring of at-risk families. Accordingly, this article is written in a dissenting voice.

In ‘The Best Interests of the Child’: Critical Reflections on an Overused Construct

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Hansen ◽  
Frank Ainsworth
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Kinship Care ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Protection Legislation

The construct ‘the best interest of the child’ is embedded in child protection legislation in all Australian states and territories. This phrase or construct in its modern iteration that dates from 1973 is constantly evoked when decisions are being made about a child's future following the substantiation of a case of child abuse and neglect. The use of the best interests of the child as a standard for decision-making, even though there is no consensus in law or social science as to what the construct means, needs to be questioned. What often follows from reliance on the best interests of the child is the placement of a child in foster care or kinship care in the hope that this will produce a better outcome for the child than if they remained in parental care. No doubt this is true for some children. Recent outcomes studies of foster care point to less than promising results for many children. As a result it can be argued that placing a child in foster care is a gamble with the child's future life.

The contribution of a hospital child protection team in determining suspected child abuse and neglect: Analysis of referrals of children aged 0–9

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 1664-1669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Chen ◽  
Saralee Glasser ◽  
Rami Benbenishty ◽  
Bilha Davidson-Arad ◽  
Shmuel Tzur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Abuse And Neglect

Ethical Issues in the Care of Newborn Infants

1987 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-94
Author(s):  
William B. Weil
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
The Political ◽  
Prenatal Period ◽  
Newborn Period ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Baby Doe ◽  
Derivatives Of

Some of the difficulties of obtaining surrogate decisions that are in the children's best interests, the extension of this problem to the newborn period, and the political and social derivatives of these difficulties have been reviewed. The 1984 child abuse and neglect amendments have been summarized and their impact on the care of newborns has been discussed. The outcomes of this entire process have been described and the potential extension of these issues to the prenatal period has been mentioned. Although not everything that has transpired or will transpire as the result of the Baby Doe issue is salutary, it seems likely that the care of newborn infants has changed and will continue to change, and these changes will ultimately impact on medical care for everyone.

scholarly journals Child Abuse And Neglect: Mandatory Reporting and the Legal Profession

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Deverson
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Legal Professional ◽  
Reporting Laws

Child abuse and neglect affects approximately 42 500 children in Australia each year. Parliaments in all Australian states and territories have introduced mandatory reporting into child protection legislation to protect vulnerable children by requiring certain individuals to report suspicions of abuse or neglect. However, lawyers are prevented from reporting because of the rules governing legal professional privilege and confidentiality. This article begins by examining the problem of child abuse and neglect in Australia and outlines the current legislative framework of mandatory reporting laws in Part II. Part III discusses the current rules governing lawyers and examines legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality. Part IV provides arguments for and against requiring lawyers to report suspected abuse and also considers the lawyer-client relationship and the special position of domestic violence victims. Part V offers recommendations for the proposed legislative reform. This article concludes that lawyers should be required to report child abuse and neglect.

Reporting to Child Protection Services

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-186
Author(s):  
Lea Tufford
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Child Protection Services ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function

This chapter discusses the steps mandatory reporters take when contacting Child Protection Services. Included in this chapter is information regarding to whom the report is made, the types of information that Child Protection Services may require, timelines for reporting, how to handle emergency situations, and organizational policies for reporting. The chapter also includes attention to reporting anonymously and challenges for mandatory reporters who attempt to function as child protection investigators. Objectives include understanding the role and function of Child Protection Services, exploring what information is required by Child Protection Services when making a report regarding a suspicion of child abuse and neglect, appreciating the rationale behind an anonymous report to Child Protection Services, identifying the benefits and challenges of reporting in the workplace, and summarizing how to protect client confidentiality when reporting.

The Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect in Ireland in an International Context

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-167
Author(s):  
Conor Hanly
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Neglect ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
International Context ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Children First ◽  
New System

Abstract Starting in the early 1990s, reports published over a quarter of a century detailed shocking levels of child abuse and child neglect in Ireland, along with failures by Church and State officials to take effective action. These revelations, supported by international research, made a compelling case for the introduction of some form of mandatory reporting. Yet until 2015, Ireland’s child protection system relied upon the discretion of those who suspected incidents of child abuse. The Children First Act 2015 introduced a new system of mandatory reporting that applies to professionals working in the health, education, childcare and law enforcement fields, a system that became active at the end of 2017. This article reviews the development of the reporting system in Ireland, and analyses the new obligations created by the 2015 Act. The article also analyses some initial figures for 2018, which show a substantial increase in the number of reports of child abuse and neglect made in that year. Additionally, the article argues for the insertion into the new system of some nuance in order that victim autonomy might be better respected.

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