'Parenting
plans' to give separated fathers better access to children
By Maxine Frith
The
Independant - 30th November 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article22585.ece
Fathers
are to be given better access rights to their children in the event
of family break-ups, under new proposals from the Government. New "parenting
plans" for custody arrangements will be drawn up with the help
of counsellors. The plans will assume that fathers should have reasonable
access. Mothers could be ordered to attend counselling if they refuse
to comply. The proposals, contained in the Government's Green Paper
on parental separation, are being seen as an olive branch to fathers
who believe the family courts system is biased against them. Although
they do not go as far as assuming a strict 50/50 split in contact, as
demanded by groups such as Fathers 4 Justice, the reforms would give
fathers far better access rights than at present. The proposals were
drawn up by the Department for Education and Skills, and firm announcements
are expected in the new year. Lord Filkin, the Children and Families
minister, said the reforms were designed to keep cases out of the courts
and to encourage mothers to allow former partners access. He told The
Independent: "The obvious thing is that the courts are not the
place forsorting out these disputes. It is about getting people to shift
their behaviour and to accept that both parents play a part in bringing
up their children. They may hate each other and think each other is
a swine, but this is about the needs of the child, not the rights of
the parent." Lord Filkin said that, under current law, judges assumed
that all cases involving child custody disputes were different and started
with a "blank piece of paper" in resolving arguments. Under
his new proposals, parents will first of all have access to parenting
plan templates available online or from other outlets. The templates
will suggest custody plans for children of different ages and circumstances,
depending on whether the parents live near each other and other issues.
Lord Filkin said a typical plan for a five-year-old girl whose estranged
parents lived in the same area could include custody arrangements where
the non-resident parent saw her every other weekend, one evening during
the week and shared holiday time. Parents who cannot agree on a parenting
plan will have to go through a mediation process. If they still cannot
agree, they will go into the "in-court conciliation'' process and
could be ordered into a "family resolution project". Under
these projects, parents would have to submit to therapy with other parents
and watch a hard-hitting video showing the effects of arguments on children.
The legal aid system will also be tightenedto prevent parents dragging
cases through the courts. The proposals have been welcomed by moderate
fathers' groups who believe the reforms will give them far better rights
to access over their children. Jack O'Sullivan, of the lobby group Fathers
Direct, said: "Parenting plans offer a great opportunity for both
parents to be properly involved and to have a say in the way their children
are brought up."
