Who Determines the Custodial Arrangement

sets out what local authorities and courts should do to protect the welfare of a child. When a pupil

The integral part of this act is to maintain the child is at the forefront of decisions; the best option in relation to the child’s welfare will be taken into account when deciding the best course of action for the child/young person’s upbringing – creating a partnership between parents and multi-agencies.

Would you risk your life for someone else’s? Would you give up the only thing keeping you warm to keep someone else warm? If you had little food would you give some to keep someone else from being hungry? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you are compassionate. According to Webster's Dictionary, compassion is defined as literally, suffering with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration (Webster's Dictionary). Throughout the novel The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, the personality trait compassion was magnified. During the toughest of times, Markus Zusak showed that hope and goodness could still be displayed while the worst of people were being

Social workers have to make sure that it is the best decisions for the child.

There are many Social, Economic and Cultural factors that will impact the lives and development of the Children and Young People in my care, these can include:

the preferred way of ensuring a child's welfare is through support of the child's family

One of the most important things that a caregiver provides a child is a healthy relationship. The relationship held between a child and their caregiver is extremely important for emotional

One popular example is the case of Neville & Neville [2007] where there was a dispute on who had custody of the child. The courts ruled that since the child had a ‘strong emotional connection’ with the mother, that she was to live with her mother but also share substantial time with her father as both shares equal parental responsibilities. However, the best interest of the child is not necessarily what they personally explicitly want, as shown in the successful appeal by the father in the case Moose & Moose [2007]. In a situation such as this, despite the children apparently afraid of their fathers ‘sexual abuse’, the courts decided that a once- monthly visit in a supervised contact centre would be beneficial as he was a ‘person who can advance their welfare’ and that such a connection ‘should not be severed’. Such a decision may be deemed as questionable due to the severity of the claims.

While looking at the dangers and environment in a child’s home, advocates such as employees of the Department of Family and Protective Services of the State of Texas, have the moral obligation to take into consideration safety of children shelters and foster homes. Morally, advocates for the children should also take into consideration the psychological trauma that the child may or may not experience through being taken away from family and being placed, possibly multiple times, at new places away from everything they know.

Article 3 states that, in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration;

Other factors that are considered under act utilitarianism are: the quality of live the child will endure, the impact and financial status of the family, and societal

having positive relationships and someone that knows the child 's needs interests, behaviour communication skills, likes and dislikes.

     The purpose of this paper was to give some insight into the vicious battles that take place over child custody. It is important to mention that raising children is difficult even with two parents, now when there is only one parent the difficultly increases by leaps and bounds. The idea of joint custody seems to sound like a good solution however, Smith (2003) stated

For the most part, parents have the best interest of their children at heart. However, there are unfortunately many cases throughout the United States where parents are unable to, for one reason or another, take care of their children. Sometimes, this can be seen as a health issue of the parents. Sometimes, parents are unable to raise their children well due to physical, financial, and/or emotional issues. Other times, parents do not have the best interests of their children in mind and can be neglectful or abusive to them. In these circumstances, the state may become involved and step into

They learn to trust that their needs will be met, or that they will not. The emotional domain includes the infant’s perception of herself and of herself in relation to others.”(Blackboard, 2013). The most important thing a caregiver can do to help a toddler’s emotional development is to create a safe and loving environment for the toddler to learn in. Caregivers should understand that each toddler is different and has different needs. Attending to each individual child in a well-organized and inviting learning environment is essential during his stage early childhood development.