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In another life I monitor and report family justice news, from a whole variety of sources. I have been doing so for more than ten years now. During that time I have seen many changes in the system (as I briefly outlined in this recent post), and many more calls for change.

In fact, sometimes it seems as if hardly a day passes by without the announcement or call for some new inquiry, review, initiative, or campaign for change, whether it be from government, MPs, the President of the Family Division, or some other interested party. In just the last couple of weeks, for example, we have had MPs calling for an inquiry into the ‘secret family courts’, the Ministry of Justice announcing a review into how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse, an announcement by the President of a ‘Transparency Review’, and the parent support Community Interest Company OnlyMums & OnlyDads launching a campaign to speed up the court process for dealing with child arrangements applications.

Now I don’t for one moment say that the system is perfect so can’t be improved, and I accept that most of the calls for change are perfectly well-meaning, but are they actually creating a problem? What is the effect upon the system of constant change, and constant calls for yet more change? As I think I’ve said here previously, we seem nowadays to be in a culture of ‘change for change’s sake’, as if any change must be for the better. That of course is not the case. But even if it were, we must still consider the effect of change itself upon the system, and those who work within it.

Think, for example, of the practical effect upon judges, magistrates, court staff, Cafcass officers, social workers and lawyers. They are constantly having to re-train in new procedures and working practices. Now, some of that of course goes with the job: they all have to keep up to date with new law and procedure, and always have had to. However, the rate of change these days is far greater than ever before. And we are not necessarily talking about small changes. Many of the changes are fundamental to the way that people work, for example centralising courts, transferring to online systems, and major overhauls of law and procedure. Just ‘keeping up’ is becoming a full-time job in itself.

And change seems to almost inevitably mean higher workload, adding to pressures on those working within the system, and discouraging others from doing the job. We have witnessed something similar in the education system, which has been subject to constant tinkering for many years, and now both struggles to attract new teachers and has a very high turnover, with many teachers leaving the profession early. I think we may already be finding it more difficult to attract the people we want, and the numbers we want, into the family justice system.

Another reason for the work being unattractive is that those calling for change are, either directly or indirectly, saying that things are wrong within the system, and that those working within it are not doing a good job. Constantly effectively being told that you are doing a bad job, when for the most part you are actually doing a very good job, must have an effect upon moral.

And my final point is a more general one. Constant change and calls for change lead to ineffectiveness and uncertainty.

Surely, any changes need to be given a chance to ‘bed in’ and work? The people affected by them, both those who work in the system and those who use it, should be able to become familiar with them. This process could actually take many years, decades even. Only then is the system working at ‘peak efficiency’. And yet change takes place on a much shorter timescale. We have seen this particularly in the field of children law, with significant changes to law and procedure occurring on a regular basis, and calls for change happening constantly.

I think many people view the family justice system as something that can always be improved, that can always be hewn into something better. On a broad scale, I would agree. But that does not necessarily mean that change should be happening all the time.

The post Is constant tinkering harming the family justice system? appeared first on Stowe Family Law.

When parents go through a divorce, one of their primary concerns is how they can protect the interests of their children. Divorce is an emotionally challenging process for every member of the family, especially for young kids who do not fully understand what is happening. It is important to provide stability and continuity of lifestyle as much as possible.

A strong custody order and reasonable parenting plan is a crucial step in your efforts to protect your kids as much as possible. However, it is also smart to find ways to co-parent peacefully in order to reduce the chance of post-divorce complications as much as possible. There are specific tools that can help you in your effort to make post-divorce parenting as easy as possible.

Is an app the right solution?

Simply because a divorce is over does not mean that remaining difficult feelings between parents will magically go away. Co-parenting is not easy, and it can take a while to adjust to the emotional implications of your children not being with you all the time, as well as the logistics of keeping up with various schedules. There are specific apps that can allow you to easily and more effectively manage custody schedules, including the following:

• Google Calendar
• Cozi
• coParenter
• CutsodyJunction

These calendars can allow multiple users, such as you and your ex-spouse, to clearly view the same calendar. You can schedule drop-off and pick-up times, meetings, changes in schedule, school events, sporting events and more. This can reduce complications and confusion, which in turn, often leads to less conflict.

When parents are in communication and there is a good system in place, it can make post-divorce life much easier for the kids. There is evidence that allowing the kids to have strong relationships with both parents after divorce is best, and using some of these technological tools can help you do that.

Starting with a good custody plan

If you want to make your post-divorce life easier and more stable for your children, it is important to pursue custody and visitation terms that make practical sense. Smart, thorough plans are better for everyone, but you may have to set aside your personal feelings in order to compromise and keep the needs of the children first.

Due to the sensitive nature of any child custody issue, you will find it beneficial to speak with an experienced family law attorney regarding your parental rights. He or she can help you understand how you can seek a custody plan that will work for your family for years to come.

My top three stories from the last week in family law.

Perhaps the biggest story of the week came from the Ministry of Justice (‘MoJ’), which announced in a press release that a panel of experts will review how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences. We were told that: “The three-month project aims to ensure that the family court works first and foremost in the explicit interests of the child, such as their safety, health and well-being.” Now, I know that things can always be improved, but I think the MoJ could have chosen their words better here, as the welfare of the child is already of course paramount. The release goes on to tell us that:  “The MoJ-chaired panel will consist of a range of experts including senior members of the judiciary, leading academics and charities. A public call for evidence will also be launched imminently and will look to those with direct involvement to share their experiences.” The move follows responses received through the government’s domestic abuse consultation, in which concerns were raised about the family courts’ response to potential harm to children and victims. In addition to calls for better protections for children, some claim that domestic abusers are using the court system to re-traumatise their victims. Justice Minister Paul Maynard commented: “Some of the most vulnerable in our society come before the family courts, and I am absolutely determined that we offer them every protection. This review will help us better understand victims’ experiences of the system, and make sure the family court is never used to coerce or re-traumatise those who have been abused. Its findings will be used to inform next steps so we can build on the raft of measures we have already introduced to protect victims of domestic abuse.” Hmm.

As I reported here, Mr Justice MacDonald has ruled that a mother’s actions in bringing her three year old daughter Ruby to England from Australia without the father’s consent “represented a blatant and premeditated act of child abduction.” The mother brought Ruby to this country in September last year. She then purchased a camper van and proceeded to tour the country with Ruby, eventually ending up in the Outer Hebrides, where she lived for two months during October and November 2018. The father applied to the court for an order that Ruby be returned to Australia. However, Ruby’s whereabouts were not known, so the court made an order permitting details of the case to be reported in the media, in an effort to locate her. Ruby was subsequently found, following extensive media coverage. Hearing the case in the High Court Mr Justice MacDonald said that he was satisfied that the mother sought to go to ground in the Outer Hebrides in an effort to avoid detection. He held that the mother had no defence to the father’s application, and therefore ordered that Ruby be returned to Australia. As I said in my post, hopefully, this case will act as a warning against parents seeking to avoid the law in the way that the mother did here.

And finally, Cafcass has announced that Jacky Tiotto will be replacing Anthony Douglas as its Chief Executive, when Mr Douglas retires in the autumn. Ms Tiotto is currently Director of Children’s Services at the London Borough of Bexley. Commenting on her new role, she said: “Being offered the opportunity to lead Cafcass as their new Chief Executive is a complete privilege. I will take great care to do it well so that the lives and futures of children, young people, families and carers continue to be the greatest priority for all of us working to support them. The protection of children, the needs and experiences of families and the responsibilities of the State in this regard are issues of huge importance to our society and for me personally. Cafcass negotiates these issues on behalf of children within the family courts on a daily basis. The demand and complexity of the work cannot be underestimated and I am delighted to be able to lead the organisation and to learn from its work as we continue to give a loud and authentic voice to the children who need and deserve our help.” I wish her well.

Have a good weekend and Spring bank holiday.

The post A week in family law: Reviewing child protection, child abduction and a new Cafcass Chief Executive appeared first on Stowe Family Law.