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.

Narrating Confluent Experiences in a Child Welfare Case

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-80
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Latty ◽  
Kathleen Burns-Jager
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Community Context ◽  
Parental Rights ◽  
Young Mother ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Case Worker ◽  
Care Worker

This constructed narrative inquiry illustrates confluent stories of a young mother, Jenny, charged with child abuse and neglect; her foster care case worker, Rachel; and her therapist, Kathleen. As researchers, we discuss the positions of each person: mother, caseworker, therapist through storied fragments representing what is most important in how they came to understand the process of their year-long work together that led to Jenny's releasing her parental rights. Layering interviews and reflexive writings, we focus on decision-making and voice; about what it means to be a parent, a foster care worker, and a therapist in a community context where parent benefit from services and the child's best interest is a privileged societal discourse.

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.

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.

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

Child abuse and neglect in Turkey: professional, governmental and non-governmental achievements in improving the national child protection system

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seda Akco ◽  
Tolga Dagli ◽  
Mehmet Akif Inanici ◽  
Hatice Kaynak ◽  
Resmiye Oral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Protection System ◽  
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 Kinship Care and Child Protection in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110360
Author(s):  
Nutmeg Hallett ◽  
Joanna Garstang ◽  
Julie Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Home Care ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Kinship Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Income ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Abuse And Neglect

Kinship care is a global phenomenon with a long history, which in high-income countries (HICs) at least, is being increasingly formalized through legislation and policy. There are many benefits to kinship care, including improved child mental health and well-being when compared to other types of out-of-home care. Despite this, kinship care is not without its risks with a lack of support and training for kinship carers putting children at an increased risk of abuse and neglect. This scoping review was conducted across 11 databases to explore the breadth and depth of the literature about abuse and neglect within kinship care in HICs and to provide initial indications about the relationship between kinship care and abuse. Of the 2,308 studies initially identified, 26 met the inclusion criteria. A majority of studies were from the United States, and most used case review methods. From the included studies, rates of re-abuse, and particularly rates of physical and sexual abuse, appear to be lower in kinship care settings when compared to other out-of-home care settings, but rates of neglect are often higher. This review has demonstrated that a small but significant number of children living in kinship care experience neglect or abuse.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document