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Empowering and Supporting Vulnerable Families through the Family Justice System

Empowering and Supporting Vulnerable Families through the Family Justice System cover

Empowering and Supporting Vulnerable Families through the Family Justice System

Description

This edited collection brings together leading scholars and practitioners to explore the complexities of the family justice system and its impact on vulnerable families.

With a focus on empowering and supporting families, this book provides a critical analysis of the current landscape, highlighting best practices and innovative approaches to supporting those who are most in need.

The collection covers a range of topics, including the role of courts, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution, as well as the experiences of children, and parents (especially vulnerable mothers) navigating the system. This book also explores the intersection of family law with other areas, such as child protection, domestic abuse, and mental health.

Through a combination of theoretical analysis, empirical research, and practical insights, this book offers an exploration of the challenges faced by vulnerable families and the ways in which the family justice system can be improved to better support them. This edited collection is essential reading for academics, practitioners, and policymakers working in the fields of family law, social policy and social work practice. This book aims to inform practice, policy, and the law, empowering and supporting vulnerable families to achieve better outcomes for themselves and their children.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Impact of the Law and Austerity and Measures on Access to Justice
1. Mediation in Cases of Domestic Abuse in the Brazilian and English Family Justice Systems, Aline Lemos Reis Bianchini (Singapore Management University) and Nicola Barker (University of Liverpool, UK)
2. A Study – Those Navigating Through the Family Justice System as Litigants in Person and those Frozen by the Challenges, Unable to even start their Journey Towards Resolution, Liz Fisher-Frank (University of Essex, UK)
3. Access to Justice in the Context of Surrogacy, Laure Sauve (University of Essex, UK)

Part II: Vulnerable Populations and the Family Justice System
4. Unveiling the Silent Majority: Navigating Migrant Families Quest for Support Within the Family Justice System in a Hostile Immigration Environment, Olayinka Lewis (University of Essex, UK)
5. Maternal Grief across Time – How do Inquiries into Forced Separation in Mother and Baby Homes Align with Contemporaneous Research on Repeat Removals in Family Courts? Daniel Taggart (University of Essex, UK)
6. A Comparative Study with England: How do Adoption Law Frameworks Balance the Rights of Parents with the Best Interests of Children? Shira Rosenberg (Queen Mary University of London, UK)
7. Supporting Mothers with Additional Needs through the Family Justice System: Social Work through a Different Lens, Jody Torode (Brunel University, UK)

Part III: Strengthening Relationships and Resilience through Supportive Professional Interventions
8. Down Will Come Baby, Cradle and All – A Service Case Study Considering the Sustainability of “Edge of Care” Parent-Infant Services in the Context of Turbulent Health and Social Care Environments, Richard Pratt (University of Essex, UK)
9. On Shifting Sands, Building Trust with Families in Poverty, Diana Skelton and Taliah Drayak (ATD Fourth World, UK)
10. The Artist's Book: A Tool of Communication and Collaboration for Professionals Working with Mother's Post-Adoption, Stella Bolaki (University of Kent, UK) and Samantha Davey (University of Essex, UK)

Product details

Published 24 Dec 2026
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Pages 288
ISBN 9781509996469
Imprint Hart Publishing
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Samantha M Davey

Samantha M Davey is Lecturer in Law at the Univers…

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