Provides overview of the literature and major policy issues pertaining to topics of importance to noncustodial fathers: child support, visitation, custody, and policy implications. Resources available for professionals working with divorced fathers and their families are identified. (Author/NB)

Examined custodial fathers' engagement activities with minor children using data from heterosexual couples from National Survey of Families and Households. Strongest and most consistent predictors of paternal involvement with children 5-18 years of age were children's characteristics (age, number, biological status, gender composition). (Author/NB)

Canadian and British study examined impact of divorce on noncustodial fathers' disengagement. Results from 80 noncustodial fathers generated two distinct profiles of noncustodial fathers and marked discontinuity between pre- and postdivorce father-child relationships. Findings suggest transition period from point of divorce to 6-12 months after…

"Your Shout Too!" reports on a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children survey of the views of 141 children and young people involved in private law court proceedings following the separation of their parents. All of the children who responded had either been the subject of a Welfare Report prepared under the provisions…

The current study was funded by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Project 53-054 Decision Making Integral to Relationship Transitions in Families. The perspectives presented in the paper do not represent views of the funding agency and errors remain the sole responsibility of the author. This article is a major revision of a…

The Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency was established consequent upon the implementation of The Children (NI) Order 1995. The role of the guardian has developed and become embedded in a changing socio-legal context. This paper will review the key influences that have impacted on predominant social work thinking. Anticipated legislative…

Understanding models of multidisciplinary collaborations in child welfare has become essential for policy development, program success, and improving outcomes for children in foster care. The authors present the state of Maryland's Guardianship Assistance Project (GAP) as a model of multidisciplinary collaboration in child welfare and describe the…

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, an international law whose purpose is to establish uniform rules to be applied in cases of international child abduction, is described. The Hague Convention requires that children wrongfully removed or retained abroad in connection with parental custody disputes be…

Three boys, aged 4-7, wanted to be feminine and dressed in women's clothes following a difficult divorce with custody and visitation strife. In brief psychotherapy, gender seemed related to issues of loss and aggression. On followup, all three were symptomatically improved. Gender disturbance symptom in boys may come about as regressive reaction…

Examines reasons for hiring a divorce attorney, the attorney selection process, and client evaluations of their attorneys. Sixty-six men and women, who were parents of at least one minor child, indicated that they learned about their divorce attorney through a personal recommendation, and hired the first and only lawyer whom they consulted.…

Examines race as a factor in determining the custody of children through judicial decisions of the federal and state courts and case reviews in journals and periodicals. Results revealed that where race becomes an issue in custody disputes it will be the most controversial factor. (Author/BL)

Summarizes the essential stipulations in laws relating to custody determination in table form. Issues of joint or shared custody, the principle of the best interests of the child, Uniform Child Custody Act, and the acceptance of psychological investigations of the child and his or her family are discussed. (Author/JAC)

Investigated whether observed divorce settlements suggest that parents make trade-offs between several dimensions related to their children (custody, visitation, support) and marital property. Data from National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 support notion that parents make such trade-offs. (Author/NB)

Examined differences in treatment of noncustodial mothers and noncustodial fathers by courts at time of divorce. Data from 1,043 court cases revealed that, looking at child support, noncustodial mothers appeared to have economic advantage over noncustodial fathers. Further analysis revealed that noncustodial mothers were in more economic danger…

Examined patterns of custody and their relationship to the behavioral-emotional and social adjustment of 93 children of 3-14 years of age. Found no evidence that joint physical custody arrangements differ from sole physical custody arrangements with regard to postdivorce child adjustment. (RH)