The meaningful participation and complex capacities of children in family law:Based on transdisciplinary perspectives and articles of the united nations convention on the rights of the child

This paper explores the connection between articles within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the participation and capacities of children. Though discussed in an abundance of literature, this article aims to analyse conceptually articles relating to the participation of children and expand upon the concept of a child’s capacity. The specific setting of custody and access proceedings will be considered throughout. Four critical articles, 3, 5, 9 and 12, within the Convention, will be examined thoroughly which emphasise the capacities, voices, views and best interests of children. These articles will be adequately considered in order to determine how the provisions actualise the participation of children in custody and access proceedings. A conceptual analysis of the aforementioned articles will be included to discuss concepts, definitions, language and critiques

“In accordance with age and maturity”:Children’s perspectives, conceptions and insights regarding their capacities and meaningful participation

Embedded within family law proceedings and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) there is ambiguity surrounding the terms rights, participation, best interests, and capacity. Research furthering the rights of children is necessitated across academic literature and practice. Across research, literature and practice there is an evident reliance upon age in relation to the participation of children in family law settings. There is considerably limited research regarding strong characterisations of such concepts, and significantly less literature involving the voices of children and their perspectives regarding the topic. This qualitative action research aimed to gather the perspectives of children aged 6–12 regarding concepts relating to their capacity to participate using child-friendly methods of assessment, specifically the use of play, art, and narrative activities. This research aim to explore the research questions, how do children aged 6–12 demonstrate, understand and describe participation capacities, what does capacity, rights and participation mean to them? How can children demonstrate and increase their understanding of complex concepts through the use of child-friendly methods such as narrative, play, and drawing? This research allowed children to meaningfully share their unique perspectives, educated the participants, and provided one further step in actualizing the rights of children. Further, this research has offered recommended various methodologies for future endeavours involving children’s participation

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Participation in child protection. Essential for helpful care for children and families with disabilities.: From theory to daily practice

The William Schrikker Group is a national organization for child protection, youth probation and foster care in The Netherlands. With over 550 family supervisors we provide support to children with disabilities and to children of parents with disabilities. Almost 10.000 children are our clients. In the workshop we will focus on these special needs children and their families. They are living with their parent(s), within a fosterfamily or in an institution. In recent years, in The Netherlands there is more and more attention to the target group children and parents with disabilities within the group of children with a protection order. Research shows that a disability has implications in many areas of life. Besides serious parenting and developmental problems often additional longlasting psychological, social and financial problems are involved to complicate things further. The families that we focus on are often characterized by poverty, debts, addiction, crime and disorder. In the workshop we would like to present our vision ‘Er zijn als het moet’ (Being there when necessary), which we are implementing in working with families and in parallel throughout the organisation. The core of this vision helps us to change our attitude in working together with children and parents with disabilities and complex problems. We use methods like Signs of Safety to strenghten and deepen the work we have to do, to create lasting safety for the child together with the family. We can say we are on a journey with both the child, his or her family system and the network around them in creating safety for the child, in which participation is a most important and proven positive tool. And continuing to get better in what we do. This point of view lead to another way of thinking about the case plan we have to make for the court. Our reports for the court used to be just our point of view and was mainly very long with a lot of difficult words. We wanted a different approach: it should be their case plan, with questions and words they understand, while focussing on the main goal: safety for the child. First we will look at the legal frame of the child protection in the Netherlands with a focus on the influence and the possibility to put the fundamental right of participation into practice. Hereby the international legal framework is leading. Second we will give a look at our method; we will tell about how the principles, disciplines and tools, help and surprise us in working with children and parents with disabilities to change the attitude, deepen our practice and realize better outcomes for children and parents. We will illustrate this with video fragments. Third we will focus on the implementation of this method in the legal frame of procedures. Hereby is the multidisciplinary approach leading: the psychologist, the practitioners and the lawyers should work together with a view to the best interest of the child and the well being of the system. Also the judge should from our point of view decide in cooperation with a psychologist in a new form of multidisciplinary jurisdiction. After the theoretical part we will go into discussion with the participants on the basis of a case to explain and practice the way of working using our case plan for youth protection