On 5 November 2012, the Child Care Law Reporting Project (the project) was launched by the Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald. The purpose of the project is to research and report on child care proceedings in the Courts which are usually bound in the majority of cases by the in camera rule.
To read a Bulletin article on the launch of the child law reporting project click here.
One year following its launch, the project has already made significant exposures about the inner workings of family law cases. At first glance, the project has lifted the veil from a procedural point of view, revealing the day to day muddle of court business. Furthermore, the diversity and complexity of cases coming before the courts is now more apparent, reflecting how and why outcomes can be so variable in the family courts. The interaction between the relevant stakeholders and the Health Service Executive appears to be less than cordial to the extent that judges, legal teams, families and witnesses are often the unwilling recipients of the HSE’s applications.
From a statistical point of view, the project has revealed some useful data that was otherwise not available through the statistical childcare data provided by the HSE. Despite the relatively small sample size of cases examined under the project, certain trends have become apparent. Notably, the reports show that the high level of evidential certainty required has a limiting effect on the protective action that can be taken by the authorities. Furthermore, while it is generally understood that the majority of children separated from their parents come from disadvantaged backgrounds it was not formally recognised that the foreign-national children, particularly from Africa, are disproportionately represented in child protection cases.
Click here to read an article in the Irish Times outlining other statistical findings of the child law reporting project.
The project has also revealed the otherwise unquantified influence of certain stakeholders who independently represent children’s rights and interests in court proceedings, including guardians ad litem and social workers. The roll of the guardian is to independently represent the interests and rights of the child, a roll they fulfil with seemingly unfettered authority. This unfettered authority coupled with the fact that they are unregulated and unregistered has prompted the Minister for Children to address the lack of an external mechanism to ensure the quality of their work.
The roll and relative power of social workers in child protection cases has also been illuminated by the project. Prior to the commencement of the project, public perception of social workers powers was rather negative. The misperception that social workers could remove children from their parents almost at will has been dispelled. The project reveals the relative powerlessness of practitioners in the face of the court, and the apparent level of democracy employed should provide some assurance.
Click here to access the Child Care Law Reporting Project website.