Lawyers say controlling and coercive behaviour powers should be used to help victims before relationships turn violent.
Full story: The Guardian
USA signs Hague 2007 Maintenance Convention
On 30 August 2016, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, signed the instrument of ratification of the USA to the 2007 Hague Child Support and Maintenance Convention.
Full story: Family Law
Full story: Family Law
Court finds care case assessment ‘distorted’ mother’s responses
Judge finds ‘fundamental failures’ in psychologist’s report means it should be withdrawn from care proceedings.
Full story: Community Care
Full story: Community Care
Towards a Family Justice Observatory: national call for evidence
The research team working on 'Towards a Family Justice observatory', a project aiming to improve the generation and application of research in the family justice system, has issued a national call for evidence as a means of engaging with stakeholders in an open and transparent way to ascertain opinions and ideas.
Full story: Family Law
Full story: Family Law
Couple told they must adopt own baby after failing to check tick box on form
'The absence of no more than a centimetre of ink in a tick box is nothing more than an understandable error' .
Full story: The Independent
Full story: The Independent
Life-support to be turned off for 'no smile' baby girl
A judge has ruled that medics can stop giving life-support treatment to a seriously ill baby unable to smile - despite social services bosses wanting the treatment to continue.
Full story: BBC News
Full story: BBC News
Guidance published on change of name on official documents
The Home Office has published new guidance on how applications are handled to change names on official documents.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Father who backs 'harmful' alternative cancer medication should have baby taken into care, says judge
A baby boy whose father advocates the use of "harmful alternative medication" should be taken into council care, a family court judge has decided.
Full story: The Telegraph
Full story: The Telegraph
Force family lawyers to offer fixed fees, consumer panel suggests
Family law specialists should be required to work under fixed fees, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has suggested as it ramped up its call for regulatory intervention to improve transparency in the market.
Full story: Legal Futures
Full story: Legal Futures
LiP slapped with £100k costs bill for ‘farrago of nonsense’ application
Case highlights the difficulties encountered by the judiciary when dealing with the 'chaos' created by litigants in person.
Full story: Solicitors Journal
Full story: Solicitors Journal
Stop scapegoating social workers to better protect children, Shoesmith says
Former Haringey children’s services director says treatment by politicians and media after Baby P’s death has left social services hamstrung by ‘fear of failure’.
Full story: The Guardian
Full story: The Guardian
Draft guidance published on anonymisation of children judgments
A project funded by the Nuffield Foundation and supported by the Association of Lawyers for Children aims to develop draft guidance to assist judges in the anonymisation of children judgments in public law proceedings.
Full story: Family Law
Full story: Family Law
Court of Protection judge criticises firm for ‘brutal and insensitive’ comments
A north-west firm is considering appealing a Court of Protection ruling in which it was removed as a financial deputy in a case concerning deprivation of liberty and care arrangements.
Full story: Law Society Gazette
Full story: Law Society Gazette
Commons Local Government Committee calls for more help for care leavers
The House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee has published a report following its inquiry into homelessness.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Father's hopes for single parent surrogacy law change
A father who won a groundbreaking legal case on Britain's surrogacy laws has told the BBC he hopes he will soon be given the same rights as other parents.
Full story: BBC News
Full story: BBC News
Man’s ‘aggressive’ emails to social worker play part in care order decision
The father’s emails, along with his failure to attend a final hearing and an assessment, led the judge to conclude he couldn’t meet his son’s needs.
Full story: Community Care
Full story: Community Care
Council fined after confidential care files found in disused building
Hampshire council has been fined £100,000 after confidential files containing “highly sensitive” details of vulnerable adults and children were found in a disused building.
Full story: Community Care
Full story: Community Care
Woman jailed for refusing to testify against her husband in domestic violence case
An alleged domestic violence victim has been jailed for two weeks after refusing to testify against her husband.
Full story: The Independent
Full story: The Independent
Cafcass chief: Stemming care applications may require law change
Changes to legislation may be required in order to curb steep rises in the number of applications for children to be taken into care, the chief executive of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has said.
Full story: Children & Young People Now
Full story: Children & Young People Now
Supreme Court refers to ECJ case of transgender woman denied state pension at 60
Sec of State argues that full certificate of gender recognition is required.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
The Fostering Network responds to BBC story about cash incentives to recruit foster carers
Transfer protocols guide the movement of foster carers between services.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Council pays £7,500 after section 20 use breached girl’s human rights
Thurrock council was found to have breached a girl's right to a fair trial and family life by keeping her in a section 20 arrangement for 13 months.
Full story: Community Care
Full story: Community Care
Cafcass in talks with government to stem care application rises
Attempts are being made to halt rapid increases in the number of applications being made for children to be taken into care, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has said.
Full story: Children & Young People Now
Full story: Children & Young People Now
Ofsted announces domestic abuse focus for multi-agency inspections
Multi-agency inspections of how services work together to protect children within local authority areas will from next month focus on the quality of support for children living with domestic abuse, Ofsted has said.
Full story: Children & Young People Now
Full story: Children & Young People Now
Care applications in July 2016
In July 2016, Cafcass received a total of 1,305 care applications. This figure represents a 16% increase compared to those received in July 2015.
Full story: Cafcass
Full story: Cafcass
Cafcass private law demand
In July 2016, Cafcass received a total of 3,468 new private law cases. This has remained at a similar level as that seen in July 2015.
Full story: Cafcass
Full story: Cafcass
Attendance of Solicitors at Local Authority Children Act Meetings
The Law Society has issued an updated Practice Note on attendance of solicitors at local authority Children Act meetings. It is aimed at all solicitors who work in public law Children Act proceedings.
Full story: Family Law
Full story: Family Law
Journalists challenge woman's demands for anonymity during divorce payout appeal
A woman embroiled in a court battle over a divorce settlement is trying to stop journalists from revealing her identity.
Full story: Press Gazette
Full story: Press Gazette
Former Pirelli model Christina Estrada yet to receive a penny of record £53m divorce settlement
A former supermodel who won a £53 million award in a High Court divorce battle with her Saudi billionaire ex-husband has yet to receive a penny of the record settlement.
Full story: The Telegraph
Full story: The Telegraph
£1.3bn troubled families scheme has had 'no discernible impact'
Senior civil servant describes unpublished Whitehall report into efforts to tackle entrenched social problems as damning.
Full story: The Guardian
Full story: The Guardian
97 per cent of children in care missing out on mentors
Children in care should be offered ‘independent visitors’ where it is in their interests.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Two-year-old girl thought to be at risk of FGM returned to UK
A two-year-old girl who was thought to be at risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) has been returned to the UK from Guinea, the High Court has been told.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Anger over legal aid bill for Ellie Butler's parents
Ben Butler, convicted of murdering his six-year-old daughter, and Linda Gray, guilty of child cruelty, received £1.5m, say reports.
Full story: The Guardian
Full story: The Guardian
Foster carers 'poached with golden hellos'
Large private foster agencies are offering cash incentives to recruit foster carers working for English local authorities - and then charging more for the service, councils say.
Full story: BBC News
Full story: BBC News
Children accommodated in secure children’s homes at 31 March 2016
Statistics recently published by the Department for Education show that there were 210 children accommodated in secure children's homes in England and Wales at 31 March 2016, a slight increase from 205 last year.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Information Commissioner responds to Supreme Court’s ‘named person’ judgment
ICO will work with Scottish Government oa address Supreme Court's concerns.
Full story: Family Law Week
Full story: Family Law Week
Court orders rehearing of case where social workers ‘misunderstood’ case law
The social workers were found to have misinterpreted the implications of Re B when analysing placement options for a young girl.
Full story: Community Care
Full story: Community Care
Amina Al-Jeffery: 'Locked up' woman must be allowed home
A Swansea woman who claims her father has kept her locked up against her will in Saudi Arabia must be allowed to return to Britain, a judge has ruled.
Full story: BBC News
Full story: BBC News
Children at risk of radicalisation not ‘outwardly vulnerable’, social workers told
A Cafcass study said that children at risk of radicalisation said methods to use recruit girls are "like nothing seen before".
Full story: Community Care
Full story: Community Care
Anglo-Irish legal battle over Poole foetal alcohol boy, 10
A boy born with foetal alcohol syndrome is at the centre of a legal row between Irish and English courts.
Full story: BBC News
Full story: BBC News
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