The View from the Other Side: How Parents and their Representatives View Family Court

Abstract

This qualitative study brings together the voices of parents and their representatives, including attorneys, social workers and parent advocates, to understand the lived experiences of child welfare involved parents as they navigate Family Court, and how to improve it. The findings suggest that these courts are difficult to navigate for both parents and their representatives, and are often experienced as punitive and unsupportive spaces. The findings also reveal a strong congruence between how parents and their advocates wish the courts to operate (and how they sometimes do), and the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ), which recognizes the emotional and psychological toll legal proceedings can take and suggests ways to minimize that harm. Parents' relationship with their judge and the judge's ability to understand and connect with them are identified as transformative factors in the courtroom. Key Points for the Family Court CommunityThe fast paced and often harsh environment populated with multiple actors make navigating the Family Court system challenging for both parents and their representatives.Contextual factors, such as trauma, and race and class bias multiply the often negative and anti-therapeutic effects of Family Court.Judges have a key role in mediating these contextual factors, and providing a supportive and therapeutic environment for adjudicating claims of child maltreatment Specific behaviors that exemplify TJ are identified, and suggestions made as to how they can be applied in the court room.

Navigating a flawed system: An investigation of the strategies employed by legal teams in family court

“…Second, the majority of attorneys touched on a challenge often encountered in the courtroom: the wish to provide their client with an opportunity to advocate directly to the judge while remaining in control of the client's “image”. These attorneys may be acutely aware of the ways in which their overwhelmingly Black clients are negatively perceived in largely White courtrooms (Lens, 2019; Stephens et al, 2021). Numerous participants reported that many of the parents they had served felt strongly about communicating directly to the judge in their efforts to regain custody of their children, but that sometimes these opportunities back‐fired, instead showcasing a version of the parent as volatile or angry.…”

“…However, they can enhance the collaboration between the parent and their legal team, and, more importantly, they can provide parents with the critically important opportunity to have their voices heard directly by those who will be making decisions about their families. While these court hearings may feel commonplace and somewhat routine for those on the legal team, the stakes could not be higher for parents seeking to regain custody of their children (Stephens et al, 2021). The ability to express themselves in court may help these parents in the process of regaining custody even when they have not been formally prepped by their legal teams; past studies in Drug Treatment Courts have shown that participants who feel as though they were provided with judicial praise and support in the courtroom tend to be more motivated to change and to more readily accept judicial mandates and decisions (Rossman & Zweig, 2011; Satel, 1998; Senjo & Leip, 2001).…”

How judges can use their discretion to combat anti‐black racism in the United States family policing system

“…These include “being thoughtful about what information they share about parents in court and why”; creating collaborative courtrooms where parents are empowered by asking what they think needs to happen for their children to safely return home; helping parents be prepared for what will happen in court; avoiding a punishing attitude toward parents and celebrating accomplishments; and offering parents trauma‐informed services (Stephens et al, p. 15). Bench books and bench cards help educate judges about structural, explicit, and implicit bias, provide a tool to help recognize and prevent bias, and offer concrete strategies to counter their own tendencies toward stereotyping and bias (Stephens et al, 2021, p. 15).…”

“…The whole floor is people that are like me…You ’ re like, this is not gonna go well . (Stephens et al, 2021, p. 10).…”

Still, we rise: Lessons learned from lived experiences in the family policing system

“…The nuance provided by Elena's lived experiences, and other PAs like her, resonates with parents who have faced similar hurdles in lives. These parents often do not feel understood by the workers and service providers who engage with them, and this can be incredibly isolating (Stephens et al, 2021). Having a space where they feel seen and understood, without needing to explain or defend themselves, is rare and necessary.…”