Objective: One objective was to determine if cocaine-using women who did not maintain infant custody (NMC) would report more psychological distress, domestic violence, negative coping skills, lower social support and more childhood trauma than cocaine-using women who maintained custody (MC) of their infant. A second objective was to evaluate the…

Domestic violence continues to be a serious problem for women in the United States. As a result, the battered women's movement has been tireless in campaigning for greater awareness of the issue, tougher penalties against offenders, and public vigilance against potential batterers, including fathers from dissolving families. In reaction to this…

The current study was funded by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Project 53-054 Decision Making Integral to Relationship Transitions in Families. The perspectives presented in the paper do not represent views of the funding agency and errors remain the sole responsibility of the author. This article is a major revision of a…

The Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency was established consequent upon the implementation of The Children (NI) Order 1995. The role of the guardian has developed and become embedded in a changing socio-legal context. This paper will review the key influences that have impacted on predominant social work thinking. Anticipated legislative…

"Your Shout Too!" reports on a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children survey of the views of 141 children and young people involved in private law court proceedings following the separation of their parents. All of the children who responded had either been the subject of a Welfare Report prepared under the provisions…

Understanding models of multidisciplinary collaborations in child welfare has become essential for policy development, program success, and improving outcomes for children in foster care. The authors present the state of Maryland's Guardianship Assistance Project (GAP) as a model of multidisciplinary collaboration in child welfare and describe the…

In this article, I suggest that postdivorce paternal disengagement may be rooted in the father's tendency to link his children and ex-wife as a single entity in consequence of his failure to adequately mourn the loss of his ex-wife and to redefine his paternal role and identity in distinction from his spousal role and identity. I also suggest that…

Examined child support payments among noncustodial mothers, focusing on characteristics of paying mothers and average amount of payment. (Author/BL)

Surveyed a representative sample of 3,745 adults to measure the incidence of parental child snatching. Results showed 55 respondents, or 1.5 percent of the sample, reported recent personal involvement in a child snatching incident, suggesting a projected estimate of 459,000 to 751,000 incidents of child snatching each year. (JAC)

This study compared parental psychiatric symptom severity, and the absence or presence of severe substance abuse, as predictors of contact with minor children for a representative sample of adults with diagnoses of serious mental illness (N = 45). Child contact and psychiatric symptom severity were measured during regularly scheduled 6-month…

The authors describe a study of families in the Family Drug Treatment Court (FTDC), an effort to promote permanent placement for substance-exposed infants within time requirements mandated by the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The purpose of the study was to evaluate parent functioning after FTDC involvement, infant developmental…

In nationally representative sample of children whose parents were divorced, separated, or unmarried, found no evidence that children in shared custody had less conflictual or better relationships with their parents. Children in sole custody gave parents more support than those in shared custody. When parents had high levels of disagreements with…

Examined incidence and predictors of joint custody based on nationally representative sample. Although joint custody has captured much attention, its incidence actually remains low. Logistic regression model showed that those with higher income and educational levels, those living in larger cities, and nonwhites were more likely to have joint…

Joint custody and cooperative coparenting are often unsafe for women who leave violent partners. Although certain legal protections are available, more work is needed to understand and address abused women's needs in this context. This study provides divorce scholars and practitioners with information on the interface between separation/divorce…

The social inclusion of vulnerable children is high on the political agenda in Britain. With policy issues concerning children in care or so-called "looked after children" (LAC) at such a pivotal point, now is the time to ensure that the educational needs of these particularly vulnerable children and young people take centre stage. It…