Balancing rights between children in care and their parents: Children's rights, best interests and parental contact

The aim of this research is to explore and address the implications of "Forced" contact between children in care and their parents both during interim care proceedings and for children who have remained in the care system after the final hearing. It would look at the balance between the welfare of the child and the consideration of the parent's rights and how this is being established.

The role of the court and children's services is to determine the point at which contact with a child and their family moves from having a positive impact on their welfare, to a negative. My research would investigate whether this is being effectively considered or whether the presumption remains that contact is necessary regardless of the child's expressed views of feelings.

With Section 34 of the Children Act 1989 stating that children's services must allow the child reasonable contact with their parents, my research would investigate whether this is being applied in accordance with the welfare guidelines in Section 1 which states that a child's welfare should be the paramount consideration. With no obligation required under statute for the parents to demonstrate that contact would be in the child's best interest, the presumption that contact has a positive impact remains in the law.

I anticipate that my research will show that the welfare of the child is often lost behind this presumption, specifically in cases regarding abuse and that the rights of the parents are given more consideration than those of the children.

My research would hope to establish whether the courts are working in the most effective way to best highlight and appreciate the needs of the child through listening to their expressed views or considering whether their behaviour following contact is demonstrating distress. Although there are often benefits to contact arrangements for children in care with their biological families through promoting a sense of identity and understanding, my research would consider whether this has become the assumption from the courts and children's services for all children.

If contact is always assumed to benefit the child, this could impact the courts and children's services ability to properly consider the needs and welfare of each individual. My research would explore the effects that this has on children that have come from abusive homes and whether enforcing contact due to the presumption of its benefit could have detrimental effects to their welfare.

This project would look at the complexity that comes with contact and whether the courts and children's services are effectively balancing the rights of the parents with the welfare of the child. I would also research the specific roles that the children's guardian and the children's lawyers play in terms of explaining which rights a child has. My project would argue for a children's rights initiative, the potential benefits that could come from incorporating the UNCRC into domestic law and whether this would provide a solution to these issues.

I intend to analyse the current legislation and case law surrounding children's rights in the social care system, looking specifically at the interaction between the Human Rights Act 1988 and the Children Act 1989 and the effect that the newer legislation has had on the courts decisions. I will draw on existing research to look at how the courts apply the current law and how the children's services system is reliant on the judicial to determine whose rights (Parent or child) will bear the most weight.

I plan on producing an online questionnaire to gather views of adults who have spent time in care during their youth and social workers and foster carers to gain a deeper understanding of the repercussions of forcing children to have contact with their parents.