Susan provides Family Reports for parents who seek orders in the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court about the future care of the children of the relationship.
She has written Family Reports for the past six years as a Regulation 7 Family Consultant and privately as a family specialist.
Susan approaches each family report with a strong focus on the best interests of the children/young people within the family unit, balanced with issues of safety for all members of the family.
The Family Reports meet the requirements of the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court
Family Reports Pre-assessment: Review of legal documents that are before the court Development of an overview of the history of the relationship and legal proceedings Identification of the impact of risk issues to be assessed as part of the Family Report: family violence, child abuse, mental health and alcohol and non-prescription drug use. Issues identified by the court and other factors requiring consideration in the assessment.
Assessment process: Individual interviews with parents Individual interviews with children Interviews with significant others, such as partners Observations of interactions between parents and children Observation of the children with other people they live with, or are considered important to the assessment of family interactions. Interviews with identified professionals such as teachers/healthcare providers. Insitu observations: Susan also offers the opportunity for secondary observations of children to occur at their homes or as they transfer between parental care, when agreed by all parties and deemed useful to the assessment by Susan.
Documentation and Evaluation of key issues: Identification of any specific needs of the children requiring consideration in the report The children's wishes and the e weight the court may choose to place on these wishes Parenting skills and capacity Parent's capacity to support the children have a healthy relationship with their other parent/extended family members Impact of orders sought by either parent on the children's welfare Quality of the parental relationship/communication Impact of any risk issues on the children's safety when in either parent's care Impact of any safety issues on the quality of the children's relationship with either parent Impact of any safety issues on either parent's ability to coparent the children Parental ability to meet decision making responsibilities for the children Other issues to be considered in the Family report assessment are tailored to meet the specific needs of the children and their parents.
Recommendations Parenting issues: Parental decision making. With whom the children live (school term and holidays). The amount of time the children spend with their other parent Arrangements for changeovers.
Counselling and skills development: To assist in the development of parental skills in general, or as a result of the parental separation. To assist in the strengthening of relationships between the children and a parent To increase parental capacity to communicate with each other about the children's care To develop effective routines for the children across parental homes Individual counselling to manage the impact of the parental separation. Attendance at specialist services to address any identified risk issues.
Other recommendations to address the specific issues identified in the report.
Section 11 F Reports The Section 11 F Report is prepared using a similar process as the Family Report. With pre-assessment reading underpinning the formulation of issues to be addressed during a series of interviews. A brief report is written and recommendations are made for the arrangements for the children whilst the matters before the court proceed. The Section 11 F also identified a range of counselling and other services to assist the children and their parents strengthen their ability to engage in safe relationships.
