scholarly journals The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Data Partnership

Author(s):  
Lucy Griffiths ◽  
Rhodri Johnson ◽  
Linda Cusworth ◽  
Ashley Akbari ◽  
Bachar Alrouh ◽  
...  

Background Not enough is known about how the family justice system is working, the children and families using these services, and their wider outcomes beyond their involvement with the family court. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (FJO) Data Partnership, comprising a bespoke analysis platform hosted within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank and analytical teams at Lancaster and Swansea Universities, has been established to address this knowledge deficit. MethodsFamily justice data is being deposited in the SAIL Databank. Data are acquired using a standardised split-file approach, stored in an anonymised format and made available to projects as linked data using a unique encrypted project anonymised linkage field. These data can be augmented with a wealth of available health, education and other governmental/social routinely collected datasets, and future data acquired from other sources, for a range of research projects. ResultsChildren and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) Cymru data has been transferred to the SAIL Databank, and agreements to transfer the Cafcass England data are being finalised. Applications are now welcomed to use these data to enhance understanding of the family justice system and children and families involved with the family courts in public and private law. Access will be facilitated through the SAIL Databank, subject to relevant governance procedures. ConclusionWe will discuss the rationale of the Nuffield FJO Data Partnership, and how it aims to a) increase capacity and capability of researchers and data scientists utilising family justice and other relevant administrative datasets, b) improve understanding about the family justice system using data from the Cafcass in England and Wales, c) demonstrate the complexities and value of data linkage, and d) assist future policy and practice development. We will discuss matching rates for the Cafcass Cymru data and linkages that have been made to other datasets within the SAIL Databank. We will also set out the support available from the partnership to those wishing to access and utilise family justice data.

Author(s):  
Rhodri David Johnson ◽  
Liz Trinder ◽  
Simon Thompson ◽  
Jon Smart ◽  
Alexandra Lee ◽  
...  

Introduction Better use of administrative data is essential to enhance understanding about the family justice system, and characteristics and outcomes for children and families. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Data Partnership supports this aim through analyses of core family justice datasets. When a child is involved in family court proceedings in Wales, Cafcass Cymru are employed to represent a child’s best interests.  This paper provides an overview of the Cafcass Cymru data, and linkage to population level health and other administrative datasets held within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. Two data linkage example analyses are described. Further research opportunities are outlined. Methods Cafcass Cymru data was transferred to SAIL using a standardised approach to provide de-identified data with Anonymised Linking Fields (ALF) for successfully matched records. Three cohorts were created: all individuals involved in family court applications; all individuals with an ALF allowing subsequent health data linkage; and all individuals with a Residential Anonymised Linking Field (RALF) and Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) enabling area level deprivation analysis. Results Cafcass Cymru data are available containing 12,745 public law applications between 2011 and 2019, with 52,023 applications from 2005 to 2019 for private law. The overall match rate was 80%, with variations observed by time, law type, roles, gender and age. Forty per cent had hospital inpatient admissions 2 years prior or after application receipt at Cafcass Cymru, of which 27% were for emergency admissions; 54% had an emergency department attendance and 61% an outpatient appointment during the same period. Individuals involved in public or private law applications were more likely to reside in deprived areas. Conclusion The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Data Partnership will enhance research opportunities to better understand the family justice system and outcomes for children and families. Population level Cafcass Cymru data can be accessed through the SAIL Databank. Forthcoming data acquisition will also facilitate further analyses and insight.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 658-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Taylor

This article considers children’s right to participate in the context of private law disputes concerning their post-separation, day-to-day care and contact arrangements. In New Zealand the approach to ascertaining children’s views has been both long-standing and systematic for contested proceedings within the Family Court (via children’s legal representatives and judicial meetings with children). However, major reform of the family justice system in 2014 shifted the emphasis to new out-of-court processes for resolving post-separation parenting arrangements. The reforms were disappointingly silent on the issue of children’s participation in the new Family Dispute Resolution services, particularly mediation. A disparity has thus arisen between opportunities for children’s engagement in New Zealand’s in-court and out-of-court dispute resolution processes. Research evidence and international developments in Australia and England and Wales are reviewed for the guidance they can offer in remedying this in New Zealand and elsewhere.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-319
Author(s):  
Bernard A. Yablin

The Psychosocial Committee is to be commended for its report on the pediatrician and divorce in the July issue of Pediatrics. I would like to add the following: The role of the pediatrician should extend well beyond the divorce and immediate adjustment process. Firstly, there should be greater involvement between both the pediatrician and the Family Court system to help prevent misplacement of the child in custody decisions. (I believe that various groups within the American Academy of Pediatrics are already working with judicial/legal groups to bring to them a greater knowledge of child development and mental health).


2021 ◽  
pp. 197-217
Author(s):  
Martin Partington

This chapter discusses the family justice system. It considers the role law plays in regulating the family. The chapter covers the institutional framework of family justice and its transformation. It notes the creation of the Family Court and the pressures on that court. It reviews the remedies which are available in that court, in particular those relating to the protection of children. The chapter briefly considers adoption. It considers other matrimonial matters, in particular the introduction of no-fault divorce and the financial effects of divorce. It considers policy relating to child support, and notes changes to ways of dealing with domestic violence and abuse. It considers the legal practitioners involved in family law issues and how they seek to deal with family disputes on a less adversarial basis. The effect of changes to legal aid for funding for family law cases is discussed.


Author(s):  
Martin Partington

This chapter discusses the family justice system. It considers the role law plays in regulating the family. The chapter covers the institutional framework of family justice and its transformation. It notes the creation of the Family Court and the pressures on that court. It reviews the remedies which are available in that court, in particular those relating to the protection of children. The chapter briefly considers adoption. It considers other matrimonial matters, in particular the financial effects of divorce. It considers policy relating to child support, and notes changes to ways of dealing with domestic violence. It considers the legal practitioners involved in family law issues and how they seek to deal with family disputes on a less adversarial basis. The effect of changes to legal aid for funding for family law cases is discussed.


Author(s):  
D. Terri Heath ◽  
Patrick C. McKenry

Using data from a national survey, the authors investigated the family life of men who fathered their first child during adolescence (N = 227) from a quality-of-life perspective. Findings suggest that men who first fathered during their adolescent years experience levels of marital satisfaction and instability in intimate relationships similar to those of men who first fathered during their twenties. However, men who were fathers as adolescents actually reported greater parental satisfaction than did men who first fathered during their twenties. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.


Author(s):  
Bachar Alrouh ◽  
Karen Broadhurst ◽  
Lucy Griffiths ◽  
Rhodri Johnson ◽  
Linda Cusworth ◽  
...  

Background/rationaleNations with advanced child protection systems place considerable emphasis on the developmental salience of infancy. However, this emphasis is not matched by any differentiated analysis of the timing of family court intervention in the lives of infants or the final legal order outcomes of these cases. This presentation shares findings from the first ever population profiling study of infants subject to care proceedings within the family justice system in England and Wales. AimTo estimate the proportion of all infant care proceedings cases issued within 7 days and 4 weeks of birth and describe case and infant characteristics; to calculate incidence rates over time and by local authority and family court region; to describe and compare legal order outcomes according to age. Methods/approachData was extracted from case management records produced by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) England and Wales. Records were first restructured to link infants to legal order outcome data and birth mother records. Incidence rates were calculated using ONS mid-year population estimates and annual live births. Within the SAIL Databank, Welsh infant records were linked to birth registration and community child health data to produce a fuller picture of infant characteristics in Wales. ResultsThe cohort we created comprised all infants recorded as subjects within care proceedings in England (2007/08-2016/17) and Wales (2011/12-2018/19). The study captured the high proportion of infant cases that are issued at/close to birth, but also marked regional and local authority variation in incidence rates. ConclusionHigh rates of adoption, particularly for babies born to mothers without a previous family court history, have prompted calls for new preventative solutions. The President of the Family (Court) Division in England has initiated a review of legal proceedings at birth.


Author(s):  
Martin Partington

This chapter discusses the family justice system. It considers the role law plays in regulating the family. It covers the institutional framework of family justice and its transformation; creation of the family court; the remedies available in that court; adoption; other matrimonial matters. It considers policy relating to child support, and notes changes to ways of dealing with domestic violence. It considers the legal practitioners involved in family law issues and changes to legal aid for funding for family law cases.


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