PRACTICAL SOCIAL WORK Series Editor: Jo Campling (BASW) Editorial Advisory Board: Terry Bamford, Malcolm Payne, Patrick Phelan, Petefl Riches, Daphne Statham, Jane Tunstill, Sue Walrond-Skinner and Margaret Yelloly Social work is at an important stage in its development. All professions must be responsive to changing social and economic conditions if they are to meet the needs of those they serve. This series focuses on sound practice and the specific contribution which social workers can make to the well-being of our society. The British Association of Social Workers has always been conscious of its role in setting guidelines for practice and in seeking to raise professional standards. The conception of the Practical Social Work series arose from a survey of BASW members to discover where they, the practitioners in social work, felt there was the most need for new literature. The response was overwhelming and enthusiastic, and the result is a carefully planned, coherent series of books. The emphasis is firmly on practice, set in a theoretical framework. The books will inform, stimulate and promote discussion, thus adding to the further development of skills and high professional standards. All the authors are practitioners and teachers of social work representing a wide variety of experience. JOCAMPLING PRACTICAL SOCIAL WORK Series Editor: Jo Campling (BASW) PUBLISHED Applied Psychology for Social Workers Paula Nicolson and Rowan Bayne Social Work and Mental Handicap David Anderson Crisis Intervention in Social Services Kieran O'Hagan Social Workers at Risk Robert Brown, Stanley Bute and Social Work with Disabled People Peter Ford Michael Oliver Social Work and Mental Illness Separation, Divorce and Families Alan Butler and Colin Pritchard Lisa Parkinson Residential Work, Social Care in the Community Roger Clough Malcolm Payne Social Work and Child Abuse Working in Teams David M. COOpttr and David Ball Malcolm Payne Social Work Practice: An Introduction Effective Groupwork Veronica Coulshed Michael Preston-Shoot Sociology in Social Work Practice Adoption and Fostering: Why and How Peter R. Day Carole R. Smith Anti-Racist Social Work: A Challenge for Social Work with the Dying and White Practitioners and Educators Bereaved Lena Dominelli Carole R. Smith Welfare Rights Work in Social Services Child Care and the Courts Geoff Fimister Carole R. Smith, Mary T. Lane and Terry Walsh Student Supervision Kathy Ford and Alan Jones Community Work Alan Twelvetrees Child Sexual Abuse Danya Glaser and Stephen Frosh Working with Offenders Hilary Walker and Bill Beaumont Computers in Social Work (eds) Bryan Glastonbury FORTHCOMING Working with Families Gill Gorell Barnes Social Work and Local Politics Paul Daniel and John Wheeler Women and Social Work: Towards a Woman-centred Practice Family Work with Elderly People Jalna Hanmer and Daphne Statham Alison Froggatt Youth Work Working with Young Offenders Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (eds) John Pitts Problems of Childhood and Social Work and Housing Adolescence Gill Stewart with John Stewart Michael Kerfoot and Alan Butler Social Work with Old People Mary Marshall Child Care and the Courts Carole R. Smith, Mary T. Lane and Terry Walsh M MACMILLAN EDUCATION © British Association of Social Workers 1988 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended), or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place, London WClE 7DP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1988 Published by MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Smith, Carole R. Child care and the courts.-(Practical social work). 1. England. Child care services. Law I. Title II. Lane, Mary T. III. Walsh, Terry IV. Series 344.204'327 ISBN 978-0-333-42077-5 ISBN 978-1-349-19516-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-19516-9 Series Standing Order If you would like to receive future titles in this series as they are published, you can make use of our standing orderfacility. To place a standing order please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address and the name of the series. Please state with which title you wish to begin your standing order. (If you live outside the United Kingdom we may not have the rights for your area, in which case we will forward your order to the publisher concerned.) Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG212XS, England. Contents Authors' Note vii 1 Social Workers and the Legislative Framework: A Case of Occupational Blinkers 1 Introduction 1 The legislative framework 3 A negative relationship? 4 Ambivalence, ignorance and hostility: some explanations 8 Some general observations in support of positive change 19 Some particular observations in support of positive change 24 Conclusion 27 2 The Legal System 29 Principles of natural justice 30 The legal profession: solicitors and barristers 39 Legal aid 44 Social worker roles in court 46 The court system 53 3 The Courts with Jurisdiction for Children 57 The Magistrates' Court, Juvenile and Domestic 57 The Juvenile Court 58 The Domestic Court 71 The County Court 74 The High Court, Family Division 83 The Court of Appeal, Civil Division 91 The House of Lords 92 The European Court of Justice 93 The journey continues 93 4 Preparing for Trial 95 Evidence 95 v vi Content The rules of evidence 97 Making initial preparations 103 Working with lawyers 109 5 Court Craft 119 Going to court 119 Losing and winning 120 The night before court 121 The morning of court 122 Personal appearance 122 The courtroom 124 The oath 126 The order of trial 127 Entrance (stage left) 128 All stand 129 Examination in chief 130 Evidence in chief 131 Cross-examination 133 Re-examination 137 After the witness box 138 6 Family Courts: A Bright Hope for the Future? 140 Introduction 140 Jurisdiction 144 Procedures and ethos 151 Specialisation: knowledge and consistency in applying the law 161 Conciliation and welfare services 166 The structure of a unified family court 170 Conclusion 172 7 Conclusion 174 References 178 Index 182 Authors' Note Any opinions expressed and/or interpretations offered in this book are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of any employing authority/ organisation in the fields of social services or legal practice. CAROLE R. SMITII MARYT.LANE TERRY WALSH vii To Stephen 1 Social Workers and the Legislative Framework: A Case of Occupational Blinkers Introduction We have little doubt that the reader will have witnessed or experienced the apprehension which stems from statutory intervention in the lives of children and their families. Social workers are understandably concerned about the effects which legal action may have on their clients and working relationships. What is harder to confront, except among trusted colleagues, is the anxiety and fear that arise from an ignorance of the law, uncertainty about legal procedures, working with lawyers and, horror of horrors, giving evidence in court. We have all been through it, whether as social workers, or as in the case of our co-author, as a solicitor who frequently acts as an advocate. The well-worn reassurance that confidence will only come with experience is of little comfort to the beginner. Having shared the anxiety symp toms of dry mouth, racing brain and occasional mental paralysis, we do not believe that such suffering is necessary, particularly as social workers may also make unfortunate mistakes while they are travelling the path of experience in search of equanimity and confidence. This book is about understanding and mastering the relationship between social work and what we have termed 1