Posts
Accurate reporting of Family cases – A long road lies ahead
On October 21st 2015 The Times published an article by the journalist Mike Pattenden who quotes Jacque Courtnage and me - somewhat to my surprise. I had not realised that our conversation was in fact an interview. Of course, this was very naive of me and I will know...
Hang on a minute, don’t we need to hear from adults adopted as children, if we really want child-centred adoption policy and practice?
The Open Nest held an intriguing conference on Monday as National Adoption Week began: It gave a platform to the voices of some adults who were adopted as children; just at the moment that adoption agencies across England and Wales are filling media channels...
McKenzie Friends: a litigant’s guide
By Sarah Phillimore and Paul Magrath The continued reduction in legal aid means that many people going to court are finding they have no choice but to represent themselves or try to get some help from someone other than an expensive lawyer. One such resource is a...
Cross Posting : PARENTS FOUND INNOCENT OF CHILD ABUSE AFTER THEIR BABY WAS REMOVED AND ADOPTED – an explanation
Lucy Reed has published a post on her blog Pink Tape which explains a bit about the legal framework likely to apply in the case reported in the press last week and cases with similar features. See : PARENTS FOUND INNOCENT OF CHILD ABUSE AFTER THEIR BABY WAS REMOVED...
Consultation on court rules: children & vulnerable witnesses
You can read all about the introduction of what is to be Part 3A of the court rules here and here. We continue to be concerned about the lack of clarity in the reports, the draft rules, and generally what is intended with regard to participation of children and...
Update on ‘Adoption Targets’
The continuing quest to get to the bottom of performance measurement and target setting about adoption at national, regional and local level. We have definitely not yet reached the bottom! (Whatever is or is not down there) This is an update to Lies, damn lies and...
Experts seeking permission to disclose documents from care proceedings
In the case I am writing about here, the court has refused permission to a psychiatrist to disclose documents from care proceedings, and other documents held by the General Medical Council (GMC), into the public domain. I am going to use the word ‘irony’ a lot. I have...
Lies, damn lies and statistics
Is the drive to get children out of state care and into adoptive families having an impact on decision making in care proceedings? This is a collective post by the Transparency Project Adoption Targets? The debate about the merits or otherwise of adoption...
House of Commons Research Briefing : Confidentiality and openness in the family courts: current rules and history of their reform
This document was updated and republished in September 2015. It contains a useful summary of the history of reform and debate in this area. It can be found on the House of Commons website.
Jigsaw identification and responsible reporting
In a judgment published on Bailii last week, called H v A (No.2), Mr Justice MacDonald had to consider a very risky situation that had potentially arisen because of the current Family Court guidance about publishing judgments. This case illustrates an interesting...