Examined the social resources used by divorcing parents (N=65) regarding issues of custody and visitation, and evaluated their interest in four types of intervention. Results showed almost unanimous discussion with the other parent, and 75 percent discussed custody with the children. Only half specifically discussed custody with their attorney.…

Surveyed judges and trial commissioners (N=80) regarding child custody decisions in divorce. The content analysis described the responents' comments which clarified their reasons for attaching greater or lesser importance to a particular consideration or the method using in assessing a particular consideration during a court proceeding. (JAC)

Addresses well-being of grandmothers raising grandchildren in coparenting and custodial households in a sample of African American, Latino, and White grandmothers. Results suggest that the cultural lens through which grandparenthood is viewed has a marked impact on the adaptation to custodial or coparenting family structures. (Contains 52…

Whether joint custody should be mandated by state law as the norm for divorcing couples is hotly debated between fathers' and mothers' rights groups and among mental health and legal professionals. This debate is traced, and the public policy implications of recent joint custody research are discussed. Policies for strengthening coparenting after…

Examined postdivorce adjustment of 149 men and 149 women with joint or sole physical custody of their children. Shared custody arrangements and access of parents to their children had no significant relationship to parents' postdivorce adjustment or relationships with their ex-spouses. Prior levels of individual functioning were indicators of…

Examined how divorce and remarriage affect persons' relationships with their former relatives by marriage. Results revealed that nearly all surviving ex-affinal relationships involved adults with children, especially custodial parents. Women were more likely than men to maintain ties with ex-affines. Custodial status, however, appeared to be a…

Replicated earlier study in which parents negotiated child custody disputes either in mediation or through adversary system. Subjects in new study were 35 mediation families and 36 litigation families. In both studies, mediation greatly reduced frequency of custody hearings, allowed earlier settlements, and improved satisfaction reported by…

Describes recent changes in divorce laws in United States, England, Wales, France, and Sweden. Notes that divorce has become increasingly easy to obtain; spousal support has become less common; efforts have been made to increase child support awards and to improve payment compliance; and shared parental decision-making authority has become…

Explored implications of childhood family disruption for parent-adult child relations in sample of 4,516 young adults. Among young adults raised in single-parent families, relationships with custodial mothers and custodial fathers remained quite positive into early adulthood. Becoming noncustodial parent resulted in severe deterioration of…

While adoption remains the most permanent of alternate homes for displaced children, it is not always a realistic alternative. Legal guardianship provides a permanency option between adoption and long-term foster care. This article contrasts permanency alternatives, gives an overview of legal guardianship, and provides definitional and historical…

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…

This study compared parental psychiatric symptom severity, and the absence or presence of severe substance abuse, as predictors of contact with minor children for a representative sample of adults with diagnoses of serious mental illness (N = 45). Child contact and psychiatric symptom severity were measured during regularly scheduled 6-month…

Past research on child support payments has suggested that a large problem exists with post-divorce payments of child support. Much of this research, however, suffers from the methodological flaws of mixing together people who were divorced with people who were never married and of questioning only the custodial parents. This study surveyed a…

Assessed impact of gender and presence of children in home on single parents' (N=83) dating behavior, focusing on dating opportunities, impressions, and interactions. Results revealed sex differences in parents' ability to meet new people, going on blind dates, spending time at home, and attitudes toward discipline. (Author/NB)