Modern Families,Modern Family Justice: Supporting Family Relationships in Fast‐Changing Socio‐Political‐Economic Climates (Summary of the Report of the Consultation at St George's House,Windsor, February 12–13, 2018)

This summary relates to the consultation held at St George's House, in Windsor, England, on February 2018. The attendees came from across Europe and from the United States, and they discussed a range of initiatives designed to address the challenges in modern family justice and the changes in the social, political, and economic environments that are impacting family life across the globe. Although the challenges are very similar, the approach to resolving them varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The attendees concluded that there is much we can learn from each other, and that greater cooperation between family justice professionals across geographic boundaries would be highly beneficial.     

Understanding Parental Gatekeeping in Families with a Special Needs Child

Supporting the positive development of a special needs child is especially challenging when parents have separated or divorced. Invariably, there is an increased need for collaborative co‐parenting wherein information is shared and intervention plans can be implemented effectively. In this article, the evolving literature on parental gatekeeping is applied to families with special needs children, as it offers a useful model for understanding the strengths and liabilities of co‐parenting relationships. We describe some of the typical and unique gatekeeping dynamics that occur when children suffer from developmental, physical, and/or psychiatric syndromes that require specific treatment and specialized parenting skills. Examples of both restrictive and facilitative gatekeeping are described as they manifest in these families. Implications for decision making are also discussed.     

Adaptive and Maladaptive Gatekeeping Behaviors and Attitudes: Implications for Child Outcomes After Separation and Divorce

Gatekeeping has been used as a theory and a measure to describe and assess family dynamics within the context of separation and divorce. In this article, we explore adaptive and maladaptive gatekeeping behaviors and attitudes that can affect the other parent's relationship with the child. Implications are presented for connecting adaptive and maladaptive gatekeeping responses to child outcomes of safety, well‐being, and positive parent–child relationships following separation and divorce. We build on the recent attention to gatekeeping as a potential framework within the child custody context.     

THE FORGOTTEN BONDS: THE ASSESSMENT AND CONTEMPLATION OF SIBLING ATTACHMENT IN DIVORCE AND PARENTAL SEPARATION

Attachment theory is increasingly being considered when contemplating post‐divorce parenting plans. Historically, there has been a strong emphasis on assessing the strength of the parent‐child bond as well as a child's attachment style. Surprisingly little research has focused on sibling bonds and the implications for post‐divorce parenting plans. This article provides an overview of sibling attachment theory, sibling attachment considerations in foster care decisions, and the limited research examining sibling attachment in divorce and parenting schedules. Several key questions are offered for mental health and legal professionals to consider when factoring sibling relations into post‐separation parenting plans.     

Gender in the Context of Same‐Sex Divorce and Relationship Dissolution

This article identifies ways that judges, lawyers, researchers, and policy makers may attend to the role of gender and gender dynamics facing same‐sex couples upon divorce or other relationship dissolution. When same‐sex couples marry, the legal system and society at large may project conceptions of gender onto same‐sex couples, often in a manner that conflicts with couples' intentions and practices. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial aspects of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. The article also suggests directions for future research on the impact of gender on the dissolution of same‐sex relationships.     

The Parenting Coordinator as Peacemaker and Peacebuilder

Parenting coordinators serve as case managers in high‐conflict families with the goal of protecting the children from parental conflict. Parenting coordinators are peacemakers and peacebuilders who identify and help set up structures in the family to support peace between the parents. The family court should promote and develop equipoise in litigants and professionals. Because parents who continue in conflict postdecree often have difficulty empathizing with their co‐parents and with their children, they might benefit from meditation training to increase mindfulness, empathy, and compassion. Self‐compassion training could also increase well‐being and more effective co‐parenting and aid in building peace in the family.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:
• Parenting coordination is a child‐focused intervention with high‐conflict parents that can help protect children from their parents' conflict.
• Parenting coordinators are peacemakers who resolve disputes between the parents and facilitate negotiation and communication between them and help them make decisions.
• Parenting coordinators are also peacebuilders who help identify and build structures and processes in the family system to strengthen interparental peace.
• Equipoise can be developed in litigants and professionals through mindfulness and compassion training.
• Family court judges can work with parenting coordinators in a team approach, in a manner similar to what occurs in problem‐solving courts, to benefit the families and the judicial system.

     

The Issue of Ethics and Authority for Licensed Mental Health Professionals Involved in Parenting Coordination

We examine the ethics of licensed mental health professionals accepting the authority inherent in binding arbitration when acting as parenting coordinators (PCs). PCs execute their duties under the umbrella of their professional identity and standards of practice. Fundamental differences exist in how the law and the behavioral sciences conceive human behavior and authority, in particular, authority by role and authority by status. Ethical concerns arise when licensed mental health professionals accept the authority to render binding judgments and ask clients to surrender their autonomy through informed consent. We offer recommendations for PCs to avoid these ethical complications.     

New AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination (2019)

In 2017, AFCC President Annette Burns (2017–18) commissioned a Task Force, led by Dr. Debra Carter, to review the many changes and developments in parenting coordination that had occurred across the United States, in Canada, and across the world in the approximately 12 years since the 2005 Parenting Coordination Guidelines were released. Though primarily commissioned to update and revise the 2005 Guidelines, the Task Force also identified emerging issues in need of exploration – the use of technology in parenting coordination, parenting coordination as an intervention when intimate partner violence is a component of the dynamic, the importance of multicultural awareness and responsiveness, and the overall impact of the statutes, rules, and regulations that had evolved in significantly varying forms since parenting coordination first presented as an intervention for court‐involved families. The work of the Task Force, including the new (2019) Guidelines for Parenting Coordination, is presented.