1. Implications for psychologists from the Review of the Family Court
Fred Seymour , Psychology Dept., University of Auckland
Suzanne Blackwell, Private Practice
Paper presented to New Zealand Psychological Society & New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists Joint Conference Date: April 2012 Wellington Convention Centre

2. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Background
The Ministry of Justice is currently conducting a review of the Family Court
Last year they released, Reviewing the Family Court: A public consultation paper, in which issues and options for reform are presented
Call for public submissions (now closed)
Established a Reference Group to assist the Ministry in reaching its conclusions
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

3. Justification for the Review
“the Family Court is facing a number of issues that compromise its on going sustainability and effectiveness, and reform is necessary”
“The Review must identify changes that will reduce on going fiscal pressures and improve efficiency”
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

4. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Issues said to include
increasing expenditure with no corresponding improvement in the time taken to resolve matters
clarification of the appropriate role of the State in family disputes
insufficient support for people to resolve matters out of court
complexity & uncertainty of court processes & multiple pathways creating confusion for court users and limited incentives to resolve matters quickly
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

5. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Issues (continued)
parties & court processes losing sight of the needs of children
what kind of cases the court should deal with & the best way to resolve disputes, e.g., whether including counselling & mediation in a legal forum is helpful
limited responsiveness to the cultural needs of Māori, Pacific & ethnic communities
confusion about the roles & responsibilities of the different professionals working in the Family Court
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

6. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Review focus
“Private parenting disputes make up the majority of the court’s workload” – how to reduce the cost of these cases.
Cases involving family violence, mental health, and alcohol & drug issues are highly risky for children – how to progress these cases more efficiently, manage costs, & improve outcomes for children.
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

7. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Focus (continued)
“Purpose is to go back to first principles … to reconsider what is the best configuration of services .. to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.”
“The Review is not an opportunity to add more layers or initiatives to the current system; rather it asks what the core components for an effective system are.”
Thus provisions in recent legislation but not yet in force, will not be considered until this review has been completed: includes counselling for children & family mediation.
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

8. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Anticipated changes - not directly related to the role of Report Writers
More direct encouragement (or compulsion) of parents to attend Parenting through Separation courses
Courses delivered more efficiently
Improved provision & delivery of information to family members
Court services will no longer focus on reconciliation, but rather on conciliation only: no more relationship counselling
Parents encouraged to talk with children, to consider their views about care arrangements
Family mediation unlikely to be introduced widely without evidence that improves efficiency, though it does allow for earlier consideration of children’s views
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

9. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Anticipated changes - not directly related to Report Writers (continued)
Present counselling & mediation services combined in a single family disputes resolution service: no more Section 9 referrals
Families given same code across family dispute services (outside the court) and within the court: improved information capture to allow adequate service evaluation
Maybe pilots of child inclusive mediation
Maybe development of triage processes to improve targeting & timeliness of service delivery
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

10. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Anticipated changes - not directly related to Report Writers (continued)
Lawyer for Child role to return to representing the views of the child & child’s welfare & best interests: no longer a need to appoint Counsel to Assist
Lawyer for Child able to ascertain the views of children through alternate means to their own direct interview
Judges no longer do mediation, but will deliver Settlement Conferences
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

11. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Anticipated changes - not directly related to Report Writers (continued)
More emphasis on cost recovery from parties
More emphasis on training and accreditation of practitioners
Greater efficiencies in some court matters:
e.g., introduction of standardised documents for parties’ applications (questionnaire form)
e.g., interim orders automatically converting to permanent orders if no new applications
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

12. Anticipated changes – relevant to Report Writers
Number of referrals unlikely to change significantly, but increased pressure for
Timeliness: shorter period from referral to delivery of report
Focus: Increased focus in the brief
Limiting of critiques (limit to cross examination)
Broadening of the practitioner groups who provide reports
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

13. Anticipated changes – relevant to Report Writers (continued)
Report Writers will be able to work more closely with Lawyer for Children (as we used to do) because of the broader brief of LFC
This will give greater efficiency & clarity to Report Writers’ participation in Hearings
This may reduce the number of interviews to which children are subjected
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

14. Implications for Psychologists
Opportunities: to become involved in areas other than Report Writer, notably parent education, & family dispute resolution
Efficiencies delivered or court will look to alternatives: quality, usefulness, timeliness and focus of reports all important to maintaining psychologists’ participation
Demands for psychologists in child protection unlikely to change significantly
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

15. Reflections on the review process
Several factors influence contributions to the review process and in particular the call to “go back to first principles … to reconsider what is the best configuration of services .. to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.”
Survival: e.g., counselling & reconciliation
Patch protection: e.g., Counsellors, lawyers, psychologists & report writing
Ideology: academics & views of the child
Hobby horses: e.g., parent education
Inherent resistance to change
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012

16. Seymour/Blackwell April 2012
Final word
There are no impediments to psychologists’ participation in the future Family Court as we demand a comparatively small amount of the total budget
Our continued participation is likely to rely increasingly on the quality of what we deliver as there is likely to be more searching scrutiny of our relative contribution and efficiency
Thus the importance of ongoing training, supervision and professionalism in our day to day practice
Seymour/Blackwell April 2012