[HOME] [BOOKS] [ORDERING] [JOURNALS] [ABSTRACTS] [LINKS] [SPECIAL OFFERS]

Carole Smith, "Mutual Respect or Mutual Distrust: Social Workers and the Courts in Child Care Decisions", in "Social Work Law: an Interface for Policy and Practice Development", Liverpool Law Review XIX/2 (1997), 159-179: This paper explores the boundary between the statutory powers of local authorities and the social workers whom they employ and the powers of the courts, in relation to decisions in child care cases. Extensive reference is made to case law in order to illustrate the ways in which courts have attempted to determine planning and decision making for children, where the local authority has assumed responsibility for their care. The courts have clearly sought to extend their powers into those areas where Parliament intends that local authorities and their social workers should be able to make decisions about children without judicial intervention or review. It is argued that judicial interference in what is properly the business of local authorities derives at least, in part, from a mistrust of social workers' ability to effectively safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The courts have been particularly concerned in this regard about their duty to treat the child's welfare as paramount and, in so doing, the application of their discretion in deciding whether an order should be made (Children Act, 1989, s.1). This paper suggests that encouraging social workers to better understand the law and legal proceedings may facilitate the development of a more productive and collaborative relationship between social workers and the courts in child cases, thus enhancing mutual respect and the appropriate division of judicial and administrative responsibility between the courts and local authorities respectively. e-mail: Carole.Smith@man.ac.uk

[HOME] [BOOKS] [ORDERING] [JOURNALS] [ABSTRACTS] [LINKS] [SPECIAL OFFERS]