Children and Their Families: Contact, Rights and Welfare

(Paperback)

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This work is concerned with the regulation of family relationships with particular reference to the issue of contact in the many different contexts in which it may arise. The presumption of contact, or of openness and inclusivity, is evident in a wide range of associated areas of family life. Nonetheless, this shift towards a presumption of contact, and its articulation within diverse fields of family law and practice, raises a whole series of questions which this book seeks to explore.

Reviews

...valuable insights on the law, government policy, and sociological research, as well as a topical consumer critique of the family law system. -- Helen Rhoades, The University of Melbourne * International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family *
essential reading for parents and professionals, as it explores the meaning and significance of parent-child relationships after family breakdown An informative and inspirational book for all who care about the well-being of this nation's children. -- David Cannon * Shared Parenting Information Group *
This collection of essays offers valuable insights into different aspects of contact to all those working with families experiencing separation. * ChildRIGHT *
The major benefit of this book for me was to highlight the tensions within the different disciplinary perspectives that both explain and complicate the problematic area of continuing contact with children in families that, for whatever reason, become disrupted. The book contains a wealth of data, research studies, literature, ideas and arguments that should be valuable to practitioners as well as academics seeking to engage with the current issues. -- Fiona Raitt * Scolag Legal Journal *
The issue of contact is explored in depth from a variety of perspectives, and results in an informative and compelling read. . . . Family court advisers across the board are likely to find topics and themes that will inform and potentially enhance their professional skills, knowledge and practice. It is the sort of operational and professional issue that CAFCASS, as a social work agency, ought to think long and hard about. All CAFCASS offices should have access to a copy of this book. -- Jim Lawson, Family Court Adviser * Family Court Journal *
this collection provides a good review of the social, legal and psychological research that demonstrates the complicated issues faced by the law, by policy-makers and particularly by family members as they come to define and express their children's welfare in the context of contact. -- Alison Diduck, University College London * The British Journal of Sociology *

Author Bio

Andrew Bainham is a Fellow of Christ's College,Cambridge and Reader in Family Law and Policy at the University of Cambridge. Bridget Lindley is a solicitor and family mediator and was a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge. Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research at the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge. Liz Trinder is a Reader in Family Studies at the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newscastle University.