IS THE APPROXIMATION RULE IN THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS?

In an effort to develop clear and uniform standards for the allocation of custodial responsibility, the American Law Institute has proposed a number of reforms. For example, under the approximation rule, the proportion of time parents spent with their children performing direct caregiving functions prior to the divorce would be reflected in the proportion of custodial time allotted to each parent after divorce. Much of the rationale used to justify the approximation rule is explicitly or implicitly based on attachment theory ( Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980 ). This article discusses the assumptions and implications of the approximation rule from the standpoint of attachment theory.     

DIVORCE AND ATTACHMENT RELATIONSHIPS: THE LONGITUDINAL JOURNEY

What are the longitudinal consequences of disrupted attachment relationships, and what bearing might that have on our thinking about divorce custody matters? In this paper, Alan Sroufe, William Harris Professor of Child Development, University of Minnesota, addresses these issues. Sroufe is a lead researcher on the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Childhood, now a 30‐year research program that sets out to explore the development of children growing up in climates of chronic socioeconomic risk. This study is widely attributed with providing an “organizational perspective” on early attachment and an ecological map of the child's growing ability to cope with chronic environmental and familial strain across lifetime. In this interview, Sroufe offers candid views from his longitudinal research, emphasizing the influence of attachment security in the progression of relationship competence across the life span, and considers implications for complex custody matters.     

ASSESSING THE PARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIP IN PARENTING CAPACITY EVALUATIONS: CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF ATTACHMENT RESEARCH

The lack of an articulated model of parenting competence and the limited use of empirically based assessment procedures is a weakness of current parenting capacity assessment protocols. The current article attempts to address this issue through the application of attachment theory and research in assessing one of the most critical components of parenting capacity assessments: the parent–child relationship. New empirically and attachment‐based assessment tools and procedures, well suited for the assessment of parental fitness, are presented, along with recommended practice guidelines to enhance the assessment of the parent–child relationship in cases of young, maltreated children (under 6 years of age).     

PARENTING AND CRIME: AN EVIDENCE‐BASED REVIEW WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NEW ZEALAND FAMILY AND YOUTH COURT

This article explores the effect parenting can have on child development. It considers child attachment theory, various parenting styles, and specific child and family factors that contribute to a child's social and emotional development. The article concludes that good parenting and good outcomes for children do not happen by chance. The foundation must be planned and made secure.     

Mother–infant separations in prison. A systematic attachment-focused review of the academic and grey literature

This review systematically searched UK academic and grey literature in relation to mother and child separation in prison. Attachment theory is referred to in current prison policy for mothers and could provide a framework linking policy and practice. Reviewing grey literature provided an opportunity to explore practice-based literature. Twenty-four academic papers and 51 grey documents were reviewed. Use of attachment theory in the academic literature varied according to discipline, ranging from extensive use to no use. There was greater use of attachment theory in the grey literature. Despite linguistic differences, all documents highlighted the detrimental impact of separation on imprisoned mothers. However, specificity was lacking regarding support for mothers, and staff needs were overlooked. Given its use across the sparse research and practice literature, and its basis for policy, attachment theory could underpin theoretically informed support for imprisoned mothers separated from their infants and staff who support them.     

Mother–infant separations in prison. A systematic attachment-focused policy review

Abstract

Mothers in prison separated from their young children are an overlooked group. Attachment theory could provide a useful model to underpin interventions and better support women affected by separation from their infants. Current policy draws on a limited body of evidence and research has developed considerably since its first design. This review systematically searched all relevant UK prison policy and government documents with regards to mother and child separation in prison and analysed the extent to which these documents draw on attachment theory. Following initial searches, 58 documents were thematically analysed. Attachment was implicitly referred to in most documents but only explicitly mentioned in four. Global themes identified included ‘separation as trauma’. However, document groups varied in focusing either on the mother or the child and there were no joint perspectives. Developing and researching specific attachment-informed interventions might be one way forward as would further attachment-based research in this area.     

Assessing for bruises on the soul: identifying and evidencing childhood emotional abuse

The term ‘emotional abuse’ is acknowledged by law in the Children Act 1989 and refers to the wider social concept of harm that occurs in the psychosocial domain. Emotional abuse is a contested notion and a form of harm that statutory child protection social workers find difficult to recognise and gather evidence of. Early preventative intervention approaches, which occur outside the legal system, are the preferred course of action in work with emotional abuse. However, child protection social workers may use their statutory powers and duties to implement interventions when cases are deemed to require attention within legal frameworks.Professionals routinely fear legal work in cases of emotional abuse, feeling inadequately equipped to engage effectively with the law. This article draws on rich research data, gathered for an Economic and Social Research Council funded doctoral project. The data offers an original perspective on the interaction between social work and law, adding to existing literature on the frictions that exists. Using psychosocial methods, the research explores social worker experiences of identifying and evidencing emotional abuse, with particular attention to the application of ‘attachment theory’. The article shines a light on some practice complexities of identifying and evidencing emotional abuse.     

CONCEPTUALIZING VISITATION RESISTANCE AND REFUSAL IN THE CONTEXT OF PARENTAL CONFLICT,SEPARATION, AND DIVORCE

A child's visitation resistance and refusal (VRR) in the context of parental separation, divorce, and post‐divorce litigation must not prematurely be interpreted as evidence of alienation, a conclusion which can be as detrimental to the family system as it is ill founded. The present article proposes a child‐centered, developmentally informed heuristic with which forensic evaluators might begin to more uniformly approach the potential causes of and remedies for VRR. An attachment‐based, step‐wise decision tree is described together with an overview of the remedies presently believed most appropriate to each. Recommendations for empirical study of the multiple convergent dynamics which determine VRR and establishment of corresponding interventions follow.     

THE EVOLUTION—OR END—OF MARRIAGE?: REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPASSE OVER SAME‐SEX MARRIAGE

The debate over legalizing same‐sex marriage implicates the question of whether doing so would signal the end—or destruction—of the institution of marriage. The appeal to preserving a millennia‐old tradition of marriage against change fails to reckon with the evolution that has already occurred. Invocations of gender complementarity between parents as essential to child well‐being also conflict with growing recognition in family law that children's best interests can be served by gay and lesbian parents. Canada's path toward same‐sex marriage suggests that impasse need not be inevitable. In the United States, this impasse stems in part from the problem that same‐sex marriage serves as an emblem of everything that threatens marriage.     

FATHERHOOD IN THE CHILD SUPPORT SYSTEM: AN INNOVATIVE PROBLEM‐SOLVING APPROACH TO AN OLD PROBLEM1

The article is a summary of the development of the District of Columbia Superior Court's Fathering Court Initiative. The Fathering Court Initiative is a problem‐solving court that has developed an innovative approach to child support cases that involves noncustodial parents returning from a period of incarceration. The program is designed to operate as a court based partnership between government and private sector organizations that match resources with family needs to promote responsible co‐parenting.     

TIPPINS AND WITTMANN ASKED THE WRONG QUESTION:

Tippins and Wittmann (2005) provide an important analysis of the limitations of child custody evaluations, but they are wrong to propose that court-appointed evaluators should be precluded from making recommendations about best interests decisions. While some of the evidence of evaluators may fail to meet the high standard of reliability expected for "expert evidence," the role of court-appointed evaluators in child-related cases is not the same as the role of party-retained experts in other types of litigation, and the legal basis for their involvement in the family law dispute resolution process is very different. The family courts should not apply the "expert evidence" standard when deciding how to use the evidence of a court-appointed evaluator, but rather should use a more flexible standard that takes account of the family law context. If the Tippins and Wittmann proposal is adopted, it will have negative implications for the resolution of family law cases, including making settlements less common, thereby deleteriously affecting children.     

BRINGING THE OUTSIDE IN

In teaching the law related to child protection, it is important to expose students to policy, theory, and practice. This article suggests a variety of ways to include these perspectives in the traditional classroom, including role-plays, guest speakers, and a one-credit externship made available to a limited number of students. These methods are part of an overall classroom experience that is problem oriented and that values student contributions to class discussion.     

RESPONDING TO THE CALL FOR CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS TO JUSTIFY THE REASON FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL EXISTENCE: SOME THOUGHTS ON KELLY AND RAMSEY (2009)

Kelly and Ramsey (2009 ) propose that it is time to examine the costs and benefits courts and participants derive from child custody evaluations. A structure for a research program was suggested. This article endorses this call for such an examination on the system that provides for forensic mental health evaluations for custody disputes. There is a need to examine the costs and benefits of various types of approaches that are emerging, including the comprehensive evaluation and brief, focused evaluations. This article suggests that there is a need for forensic quality control of the work product that is produced by evaluators. Courts are cognizant of the need to encourage settlement between parties, but they also need to be accurate in making judicial determinations that will be in the best interests of children. Quality evaluations are a cornerstone in working toward this goal. Kelly and Ramsey are mindful of the need for evaluations to facilitate settlement, but also to get it right for the court on accurate predictions about children's developmental outcomes.     

FAMILY LAW AND THE NEUROSCIENCE OF ATTACHMENT,PART II

Daniel Siegel is renowned for his ability to translate neuroscience for professions working outside the arena of science. Here, Siegel discusses advances in interpersonal neurobiology, specifically considering applications for family law. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry and co‐director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA and director of the Mindsight Institute. He is the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including the internationally acclaimed professional texts, The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience and The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well‐Being.     

FAMILY LAW AND THE NEUROSCIENCE OF ATTACHMENT,PART I

In this far‐reaching interview, Allan Schore, renowned scientist, clinical psychologist, and clinical neuropsychologist, considers the place of neuroscience in facilitating developmental knowledge and better decision making in family law matters. He details current science on the neurology of attachment formation, the function of early caregiving relationships, gender, neuroscience perspectives on conflict and family violence, and implications for parenting arrangements. At the meta level, Schore describes the responsibilities of the family law system in promoting the development of the child. On the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, Schore is on the editorial staff of 35 journals in various academic and clinical fields. His integration of neuroscience with attachment theory is documented in three seminal volumes, Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self, Affect Dysregulation and Disorders of the Self , and Affect Regulation and the Repair of the Self, as well as numerous articles and chapters. He has justifiably earned the nickname of “America's Bowlby.”     

VAN DUZER MEMORIAL ORATION: THE EFFECT OF ARMED CONFLICT ON CHILD HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Armed conflict has occurred in many parts of the world for centuries and undoubtedly will occur in the future. In the past, combatants suffered; now the majority of suffering is by civilians. Children in these regions are denied the benefits of health care and normal nurturing both during and especially for prolonged periods after the conflict (when the health and social systems have been disrupted or are non‐existent). Their problems of health and development are major; problems for which the experience and knowledge of pediatrics and pediatric research could contribute. Yet, to date, the study of the health and development of children in war zones has not been a major priority of pediatric societies or of the large community of pediatric clinicians and researchers. Recently the Programme for Global Pediatric Research has held meetings with representatives of agencies working in areas of armed conflict together with pediatric clinicians and researchers. They explored the health and developmental problems of children in war zones. Recommendations from those meetings highlighted the plight of mothers and children during conflict and in the period “after the shooting stops.” Child health and development is critically affected during these times. In many instances planning has been inadequate and both government and legal support have been deficient. This presentation will describe the health and developmental problems of children in zones of armed conflict and steps to be taken to alleviate these major problems.