NCJ Number
221243
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 71-92
Date Published
January 2008
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Interviews with previously abused divorced mothers are analyzed regarding their experience with law guardians of their children.
Abstract
The findings add to the slim body of knowledge about women’s views of their experiences with law guardians. Women saw the law guardianship system as suffering from unclear and inconsistent role definition and selection criteria, insufficient training, and low pay. Two basic shortcomings of law guardians were perceived by participants: lack of professionalism and lack of expertise. This study sought to explore the complex world of law guardians due to evidence questioning the adherence to acceptable guidelines. It sought to document lived experiences by participants in their own voices. Ten women who were abused and subsequently divorced were identified. The 10 women interviewed were from New York City and Suffolk and Nassau counties on Long Island. The law guardian system in these counties varies in method of recruitment, pay, other work law guardians do, and the length of their involvement with clients. Figure, and references