[1.1] Introduction
In certain scenarios, where the law in Ireland fails to explicitly outline the rights of the parent, the judicial adjudication in relation to guardianship, custody and access is fundamental to ensuring that the well-being of the child remains secure. Although there is some sense of legal certainty in respect of married parents and their children, this is not consistent with the situation that non-marital parents sometimes face due to the outdated legislation of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964(1964 Act) as amended. This uncertainty has been a catalyst for the drafting of the Children and Family Relationship Bill 2013 (2013 Bill). The 2013 Bill aims to establish a legal framework which can support the many divergent family dynamics which are present in twenty first century Ireland. It is hoped that such a framework will provide legal pellucidity in regards to the rights and duties of parents within a non-traditional family model.
This submission will outline the law in Ireland today, while simultaneous highlighting the flaws and issues that are present within our legal framework in relation to parental uncertainty in cases of guardianship, custody and access. The 2013 Bill and its implications will also be addressed, accompanied by a critique of the relevant sections.
[1.2] Analysis
Although the 1964 Act provides guidance and clarity in some circumstances, it fails to provide a definition of the precise nature or range of responsibilities that arise from being a guardian. However, the courts have accepted guardianship to mean the rights and duties of parents in relation to the raising of their child. More notably, this piece of legislation is also quite restrictive on who can achieve automatic guar...
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...ide a more stable and fitting “contemporary legal architecture” on guardianship, custody, access and the upbringing of children in diverse family forms. Although the proposed laws may not be welcomed by all, they are arguably a necessity to ensure that the Irish legislation is providing a legal framework that is in step with the reality of the diverse and evolving family structures that we see today.
[1.6] Bibliography
Acts
Adoption Act 2010
Guardian of Infants Act 1964
Health Act 2004
Protection of Children (Hague Convention) Act 2000
Children Act 1997
Human Rights Act 1998.
Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996
Family Law Act 1995
Child Care Act 1991
Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989
Status of Children Act 1987
Courts (No. 2) Act 1986
Age of Majority Act 1985
Courts Act 1981
Health Act 1970
Succession Act 1965
If the local authority establishes that the child is a child in need or at risk of harm, it has a duty under section 47 of the Children Act (1989) to make a care plan or child protection plan to provide support which involves adequate supervision and checks to ensure that the child is no longer at risk. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) promotes empowerment for children as they can exercise their right to express their views and be heard and their best interest would be at the centre of the intervention and social workers need to ensure that decisions made are not affected by the influence from family or professionals they work with (Lee & Hudson,
...l now be given the power to interfere in cases where parents have failed in their duties towards the child. This is extremely important as it allows the State to intervene in cases where there has been a failure, which was difficult to do in the past. This new role of protecting children's rights is favourable as it will, hopefully, prevent any failure by the State to children in unacceptable circumstances/situation.
The goal of Juvenile Courts and the Child Welfare Agencies is to protect and make decision in the best interest of children. The ASFA law was signed by President Bill Clinton. On November 19, 1997 after it was approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month. The law was the most significant piece of legislation dealing with child welfare in twenty years. States decided to interpret the law as requiring biological families to be kept together no matter what, but the law shifted emphasis towards children health and safety concerns and away from a policy of reuniting children with their birth parents without regards to their prior abuse. ASFA lead sponsor, Republican Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island said, “We will not continue the current system of always putting the needs and rights of biological parents first … It’s time we recognize that some families simply cannot and should not be kept together.” This phil...
In Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court held that “Parent and children enjoy a fundamental, constitutionally-protected right to family integrity.” And in Custody of a Minor, 377 Mass. 876 (1979), the SJC held that “Loss of a child custody may be as onerous a penalty as the deprivation of the parent’s freedom.” Most importantly, it is the public policy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that a child’s welfare is best served in the care and custody of her parent. See Petition of Department of Public Welfare to Dispense with Consent to Adoption, 383 Mass. 573, 587 (1981). Moreover, in a Care and Protection case, the ‘integrity of the family is threatened by government intervention’; in order to protect the rights at issue, the requirements of due process must be throughout the proceedings. See Department of Public Welfare v. J.K.B., 379 Mass. 1, 3 (1979). Based on these mentioned rationale, reasons and decision, DCF has created rules and regulations to guide its conducts operation and above all, its decision to protection children in need.
In this essay I am assuming the role of the social worker. In this case Peter and Jane have a baby son called David, who is about four months old. It says in section 2 (1), that where the child’s parents have been married before the conception of the child, they shall each have parental responsibility for the child, the meaning of parental responsibility is discussed in section 3. In this case, both Peter and Jane were married at David’s birth. Jane bought David in to hospital with a severe head injury. Upon examination by the hospital staff he is found to also have suffered previous injury to some of his ribs. This has caused grave concern and given rise to the hospital notifying the police. They in turn have gone on to notify the local authority, which has appointed me as David’s social worker. Under section 47 I have a duty to investigate the allegations and also a duty to contact all other agencies who might be involved...
Up until the past year or so I was sure that I was going to pursue the path of Family Law once I became an attorney. As a result, I spent a great deal of my time reading over the Maine Revised Statutes to get a better understanding as to what a Family Law attorney would deal with day in and day out. While reading, I immediately became very interested in 19-A M.R.S. §1803; I was unaware that such a law existed, and I was quite surprised that it was in existence. After spending a considerable amount of time analyzing the pros and cons it carries with it, I eventually found that 19-A M.R.S. §1803 is an excellent law as a whole. I came to this conclusion based upon my personal opinion that it is very important for a child to have a relationship with it’s immediate family members while growing up, as long as it does not put the child in harms way.
The environment has to be safe and secure and equal attention according to the needs of the child is necessary. The Act puts emphasis on the welfare and rights of the child, teachers and support staff must effectively communicate with children and young people respecting their views, wishes and feelings. Again, procedures for reporting concerns and information sharing have to be followed. Professionals such as social workers under the Act are permitted to make investigations and where significant harm is apparent; the police are permitted to take the child.
When a court is dealing with proceedings relating to a child, section 1 of the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) governs that the court’s paramount consideration shall lie with the child’s welfare. The term paramount was explained by Lord Macdermott in J v C which means ‘that the child’s welfare is to be treated as the top item in a list of items relevant to the matter of question’. His Lordship went on to explain that when all the relevant facts and circumstances are taken into account and weighed, the outcome chosen by the court is based on the interests of the relevant child. Therefore any other party’s interest is only considered as far as it contributes to promote the child’s best interest.
The main points of the children’s act 1989 are parental responsibility and the welfare of the child. Children are best cared for within their own families. The act states that the mental and physical wellbeing of the child is important. Professionals and parents/carers must work together to ensure the safety of the child. Local authorities have a duty to look into situations where they suspect a child or young person to be suffering from significant harm. Duties get allocated to local authorities, and other agencies to ensure that all children are safeguarded. The children’s act 2004 reinforces that all organisations that work with children and young people must help to safeguard
The Amendment Act has followed the research and recommendations that were provided by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2010. There has been a large move away from providing parents with more rights in terms of parenting orders and access to their children, and has emphasised that there are a large amount of risks when going through these processes. The Amendment Act has provided women and children with more protection from violence and abuse, by assessing potential risks in a larger context and by expanding definitions to include different categories that are considered acceptable within modern society.
The Louisiana courts have remained conveniently silent regarding de facto, or psychological, parentage in their legislation and case law. In Gill v. Bennet, a grandmother appealed a lower court ruling, claiming she was the “psychological parent” of her grandchild because of a guardianship order from an Indiana court. The court noted there are no cases or statutes expressly addressing de facto parents in Louisiana. There have been custody and visitation cases regarding claims of “psychological parent” by grandparents, which resulted in the development of La. Civ. Code Art. 136 and La.R.S. 1344. The court proceeded to address her appeal as a grandparent, or third party seeking custody from a natural parent. The court upheld the trial courts ruling awarding joint custody to the parents of the child, naming the father domiciliary parent, declining to acknowledge the grandmother as a de facto parent, but awarding her visitation under La. Civ. Code Art. 136 because “extraordinary circumstances” existed.
Letiecq, B. L., Bailey, S. J., & Porterfield, F. (2008, August). " We have no rights, we get no help" the legal and policy dilemmas facing grandparent caregivers. Journal of Family Issues, 29, 995-1012.
In this day and age there are many variations of what constitutes a couple or family in comparison to many years ago. Long ago the idea of a ‘nuclear family’ was considered the norm; it consisted of the conventional husband, wife and children . But as our society progressed through the years this definition became less conventional and criticisms were made, this definition of ‘family’ did not account for gay unions, soul parents nor did it acknowledge the prevalence of extended family. The definition of family has changed over time, as have the socially defined roles of mothers and fathers. Within these varied family units, situations occur in which divorces and separations take place and a lot of the times these tricky situations may involve children, which can make an already tricky situation even more problematic. There are pieces of legislation which are in place which aim to protect the best interests of a child during the time their parents are going through divorce but sometimes these avenues can be more problematic and ultimately destroy unions whereas other avenues of dispute resolution such as mediation, albeit with its own criticisms, helps to keep relationships afoot in that it provides an opportunity for peaceful and mutual agreements to be made in a more laid back environment.
Families are becoming more diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people consider families to be strictly biological, while others consider people they love to be their family. Although two-parent families, also known as a nuclear family are the majority, one-parent families are becoming more common in today’s society. A sole-parent is considered to be a parent without a partner or spouse who is the primary care giver of one or more children in a household (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). From the age of 14 onward I was raised by m...
Does a child need both parents? Does a young boy need a father figure around? Does the government provide help for single parents? What role do step-parents and step-siblings play? With much speculation, this topic has become a very intriguing argument.