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.     

VISITATION AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

with increasing frequency, courts and legislatures are focusing attention on visitation disputes in which there are allegations of domestic violence. This article explores the requirements for a careful assessment of the domestic violence issues, theparenting capacities of the adults, and the coping skilk of the children. It then proposes a decision-tree model of access recommendations that incorporates the information gatheredfmm the evaluation procedures.     

VISITATION AND CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES

Fabricius and Braver argue that nonresident fathers incur appreciable visitation expenses and that their child support obligations should be reduced accordingly. To assess whether fathers incur "appreciable" expenses requires data from mothers and fathers on expenditures in dollar terms rather than data from college students on items kept in the nonresident father's house. The Fabricius and Braver data also overstate the degree to which all divorced fathers do anything for their children. Representative data indicate that father visitation declines substantially over time. Father's postdivorce, post–child support standard of living remains twice that of mothers and children. The cliff model—making adjustments for visitation only in the rare cases of very high shared physical custody—is sensible policy.     

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND EMPOWERMENT IN CUSTODY AND VISITATION CASES

This article reports a State Justice Institute funded research project attempting to demonstrate the difference between mediation and evaluation disputes over child custody, and visitation where domestic violence is involved. The researchers attempted to develop samples at two courts—Hennepin County Circuit Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, Oregon.     

ACCOMPLISHING THE MULTIPLE TASKS OF DIVORCE AND SEPARATION

This article presents two checklists (Child-Related Agreements and Spousal-Related Agreements) that facilitate professionals who assist couples in accomplishing the multiple tasks of divorce and separation. These two checklists have been and are being used in several court settings and in private mediation practices.     

TOURISM VISITATION OF YANKARI AND CROSS RIVER NATIONAL PARKS BY LOCAL AND FOREIGN STATUSES-IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM IN NIGERIA

Development of sustainable tourism constitutes an essential part of Nigeria＇s agenda for attaining sustainable development by the year 2020. Tourism is expected to diversify the economy away from the oil sector, and play a vital role in the economy in the areas of environmental conservation, employment creation, and foreign exchange generation. The present study examines utilization of two Nigerian national parks - Yankari National Park （YNP） and Cross River National Park （CRNP） - along local and foreign lines over the period 2002 - 2006 to assess the potential contribution of foreign tourism to the national economy.     

REPORT 4: MEDIATED AGREEMENTS ON CHILD CUSTODY AND VISITATION

This report describes child custody and visitation arrangements and assesses the impact of factors thought to influence the terms of mediated agreements. The data is from the California Snapshot Study conducted in June 1991 and is the fourth in a series of reports concerning this landmark study.     

A COMPELLING NEED FOR MANDATED USE OF SUPERVISED VISITATION PROGRAMS

Courts are frequently confronted by circumstances that do not justify termination of all contact with a parent, yet present legitimate concerns regarding the physical, emotional, or mental health of the child. Supervised visitation programs afford such parents and their children the opportunity to preserve the emotionally vital parent-child relationship while protecting the child, and sometimes the other parent, from harm. As the number of children deemed to be at risk continues to rise, demand for supervised visitation services steadily exceeds supply. This article proposes that all states should make supervised visitation programs universally available by enacting legislation that provides for their creation, regulation, and funding, together with clearly defined guidelines that mandate participation in supervised visitation programs whenever specific risk factors are present.     

FATHERS AND CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF PARENTAL SEPARATION AND DIVORCE

Fathers' role in child abuse in the context of parental separation and divorce has been the subject of continuous stereotyping over the last several decades. This article examines the stereotypes projected against current research, particularly findings from a study of an experimental family court program designed for the better management of residence and contact disputes where child abuse allegations had been made. These findings are discussed in regard to similar studies internationally. While the two prevailing but opposing stereotypes of fathers' role in child abuse in this context were not confirmed by the research, aspects of the stereotypes regarding fathers' views and mothers' views of each other were supported. Problems associated with the paradoxical position of fathers as the most frequently alleged perpetrators of abuse, the most frequently substantiated perpetrators, and also the most frequently unsubstantiated perpetrators tend not to be fully addressed by the current court process for these disputes.     

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR SUPERVISED VISITATION NETWORK PRACTICE: INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION

In 1996, members of the Supervised Visitation Network approved initial standards and guidelines for practice. The approach taken was to develop standards of good practice that could be both educational and advisory. It was recognized that the standards as approved were a start and also that they would need to be revised with time and experience. That review is currently in process. The standards and guidelines are published here to reach practitioners in the field, including attorneys and court personnel whose clients require supervised visitation, and to encourage comments and debate. This introduction reviews the evolution of the guidelines, outlines the contents, and identifies areas needing further development.     

SUPERVISED VISITATION: A CALL FOR A SECOND GENERATION OF RESEARCH

With the divorce rate rising and related child visitation disputes becoming an increasingly difficult issue before the courts, supervised visitation programs have proliferated over the last decade. The literature demonstrates that ongoing contact between children and both parents following separation and/or divorce is important for children's socio‐emotional adjustment and positive child/parent relations. However, there is a paucity of literature demonstrating a relationship between supervised visitation programs and child/parent relationship outcomes. Based on the lack of outcome research the authors argue for a second generation of research regarding intended and unintended consequences of supervised visitation. This article reviews and synthesizes the current literature, highlighting strengths, limitations, significant findings and proposes a critical need for evidence‐based research.     

DIVORCE AND SEPARATION IN SWEDEN

As background for my presentation regarding the Swedish method of handling custody and access, the following statistics place this presentation in context: The population of Sweden in 1988 was 8,458,888 of which 1,847,842 were children under the age of 18. In Sweden, the legal age of majority is 18 years.