NCJ Number
180600
Date Published
May 1999
Length
115 pages
Annotation
This report evaluates the operation and impact of new legislation in New Zealand regarding supervised access to children for noncustodial parents who have committed domestic assault.
Abstract
The 1995 provisions in the Guardianship Act and the Domestic Violence Act gave the Family Court new powers to order that access to the child be under supervision to protect the child from direct physical harm and from the harm from witnessing violence within the family. The evaluation focused on whether the new provisions promote the welfare of the child and whether they are fulfilling the objective of protecting children from violent parents in cases where the violent parent has applied for access. It also focused on other consequences of the policy change. The research used information from a 1997 study of 558 files from 5 family courts; from interviews of 53 providers of supervised access services, program providers, court staff, attorneys, and judges; and interviews conducted in 1998 with 82 custodial and non-custodial parents and 5 people who had supervised access informally. The analysis concluded that the supervised access provisions have led to safer access arrangements for children in families in which violence has occurred. However, some children remain in situations of risk and exposure to violence despite the new provisions. Tables, figures, appended instruments, and 11 references