NCJ Number
171792
Date Published
1996
Length
95 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews with more than 100 parents, attorneys, social workers, therapists, and judges, this book uses case examples to provide the framework for attorneys and judges to explore culture and its impact on abuse and neglect practice.
Abstract
The process promoted in the book is based on the premise that each family involved in an abuse and neglect hearing is unique in key aspects of their lives. Further, the solutions needed to repair the family or determine whether to break the parent-child relationship forever must be based upon a clear and careful understanding of family differences and family uniqueness. The challenge for attorneys and judges is to determine how and whether family uniqueness will affect the way the case moves through the court processes. The process requires constant questioning of the cultural and subcultural context of the family. Included in this analysis of family context are race, ethnicity, gender, language and literacy, physical and mental disabilities, sexual orientation, religion, economic status, and age. Also, there should be a constant search for opportunities to provide services that will fit the family context. This search should begin at the first hearing, when the decision is made to place the child in shelter care. The process of assessing family context also requires constant listening to what is being said by all parties, including attorneys, when conclusions are brought to the court. Further, attorneys and judges should maintain a constant awareness of their own personal cultural and subcultural context. Case examples, which are intended to illustrate the process of family assessment, focus on initial hearing through adjudication, disposition and case reviews, and termination of parental rights. The responsibilities of the child's attorney, parents' counsel, and judges in taking into account each family's cultural uniqueness are discussed in separate sections.