Navigating a flawed system
An investigation of the strategies employed by legal teams in family court
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21739880 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Colleen C Katz (0000-0002-6318-456X, Hunter College), Caterina Pisciotta (0000-0002-3204-1769, The Graduate Center, CUNY), Roula Hajjar (Hunter College), Eden Wall (Hunter College), Eden V Wall (Silberman School of Social Work Hunter College, CUNY New York New York USA), Vicki Lens (0000-0002-4676-5522, Hunter College) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 287-303 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Family Court Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1531-2445 • E-ISSN: 1744-1617 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/fcre.12707 |
| OpenAlex | W4360613548 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 17 |
Family courts have been criticized for failing their core mission of rehabilitating families. Structural inequalities embedded in the family court system, combined with the role of adversarial judges and resource constraints, have contributed to the creation of a problematic environment for parents and families. In this paper, we examine the strategies that legal teams (attorneys, legal social workers and parent advocates) employ to serve child welfare‐involved parents in navigating this complex system. Interviews were conducted with 32 participants employed by public defender organizations in a large Northeastern city. We called on thematic analysis to identify three distinct themes: (1) Keeping the Lines of Communication Open (the importance of regular communication between parents and attorneys); (2) Strategic Use of Parent Voice (the intentionality behind when and how parents should speak directly to the judge); and (3) Parents as Chameleons (the grooming of parents to meet certain judicial ideals of parenthood). We identified several strategies to empower child welfare involved parents as they pursue legal permanency for their children: (a) ameliorating communication barriers between parents and their legal team members; (b) preparing parents to amplify their voices in the courtroom; and (c) using more general language to co‐manage parental appearance and presentation
Adversarial system · Child protection · Family court · General partnership · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Welfare · Child Abuse and Trauma · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Angry Black Woman
The View from the Other Side
Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies
Using multiple coders to enhance qualitative analysis
Against the Grain
Gender, Race, and Speech Style Stereotypes
Parents' perceptions of their participation in mandated family group meetings
Involvement of Tanf Applicant Families with Child Welfare Services
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Cultural Mechanisms and the Persistence of Neighborhood Violence
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |