because supporting the whole family brings better outcomes for children...
policy
The Centre for Separated Families is a key contributor to policy development. Our input extends across the voluntary and private sector as well as Government.
Our approach of supporting the whole family after separation is increasingly seen as the way forward. Government departments are beginning to develop holistic support programmes and some charities are also starting to think about the future of their services to separated families.
Putting Children First conference report
The Centre for Separated Families has published a key recommendations report following the Putting Children First: best practice in support to separated families conference held in London on 16 October 2008.
The report pulls together the main themes that arose at the conference and makes four key recommendations based on the contributions and debates.
Adobe Acrobat document [4.5 MB]
Because supporting the whole family brings better outcomes for children...
This policy paper was published on 16 October 2008 to coincide with the Putting Children First: best practice in support to separated families conference.
The paper calls for a new approach to supporting separated families so that services are delivered in ways that are relevant to the different needs of mothers and fathers.
Adobe Acrobat document [14.7 MB]
A number of discussion papers, articles and transcripts of presentations are described below. Full length documents are available upon request. Order
documents here
Family separation and the ethic of care: February 2008.
'The process of renegotiation moves most parents
into areas with which they are unfamiliar, since choices and decisions that need to be made can no longer be done on the basis of clearly demarcated parental responsibilities within the family unit…'
Order
Interrupting the Cycle of Family Breakdown: January 2008.
'We asked the group about their own experience of
being parented and what their relationship with their mother and father had been like. Every one in this group said that their parents had separated before they were seven. All but one had lived only
with their mother and all but two had lost contact with their father…' Order
Family Law Reform: Beyond Stereotypes: December 2007.
'Stereotypes can be compelling, not least because in order to work they must have a strong basis
in reality. Law can often be a blunt instrument, so there is an obvious attraction in designing a scheme around a stereotypical model, which can be applied to the greatest number of cases and aim for
the widest public support...' Order
Fathers Caring for Children Alone: June 2007.
'Our work with lone fathers tells us that dads are very likely to feel isolated in their own
community and are also likely to continue to isolate themselves from the very people who could offer the help that they need...' Order
A New Model for Supporting Separated Families: May 2006.
'Exposing our service delivery to gender analysis made us realise that, far from being the
equalities-led organisation we believed ourselves to be, we were in fact perpetuating and reinforcing many of the inequalities that we were so opposed to...' Order
Welfare Benefits: Barriers to Shared Care: November 2005.
'The primary problem facing parents attempting to share care is the incompatibility of family law,
which allows shared residence (i.e. shared care parenting) and welfare benefits legislation and Child Support Act, which does not...' Order
print version