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The best interests of the child? The role of the court welfare officer
Author(s) -
KINGSLEY JAMES R.K.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/j.1099-0860.1990.tb00367.x
Subject(s) - officer , welfare , service (business) , law , social work , political science , work (physics) , social welfare , public relations , sociology , business , engineering , marketing , mechanical engineering
SUMMARY. The current developments in practice, where children are involved with the courts, will form a fundamental part of work with children under the 1989 Children Act. One of the key actors will be the Court Welfare Officer, part of the Probation Service. This article reviews the role as it has developed in recent years, pointing out the different practices which coexist, even in the same area. Using evidence from a small scale research study in one Service, the article argues for a clearer and more consistent role, which can only really develop under a Family Court Welfare Service