Child Inclusion in Family Mediation
The Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Act of 2021 concluded that children's participation in decisions about them was insufficient.
The duty of FDR providers is now to ensure that children who are the subject of dispute are given any reasonable opportunities to participate in decisions affecting them (that the FDR provider considers appropriate). This changes the landscape somewhat from the 'nice-to-have' of child inclusion to a duty, and in doing so renders a somewhat more urgent training for mediators in a professional understanding of child inclusion.
Jill Goldson is the Director of The Family Matters Centre in Auckland, (www.thefamilymatterscentre.co.nz ) where she consults with children and families. Jill has previously run child-inclusion training in partnership with both Aminz and Resolution Institute and has now created an online child-inclusion professional training course. Her particular research specialisation is working in child inclusive mediation, and over the past two decades she has published, researched, taught and practised extensively in this area.
Registration, payment and immediate access to material is now available at this link: Jillgoldson.thinkific.com
The course, which is pre-recorded and therefore self-paced, includes in-depth analysis, practice steps, academic research, theoretical overviews, valuable case studies, learning recaps and key references. It is comprised of five hours of lectures + two hours of interviews with practitioners and senior academics in law and psychology, including:
Mark Henaghan, NZ (Professor in Family Law, Auckland University);
Jeremy Sutton, NZ (Barrister, mediator and collaborative practitioner, Auckland)
Anthony Douglas, UK (former CEO, Cafcass);
Robyn Leach, NZ (FDR mediator, Ngāti Maru);
Mandy Matthewson, (senior lecturer, lead researcher in parental alienation, University of Tasmania)
Denise Guy, Mary Ferguson, NZ, paediatric psychiatrist and psychotherapist, (IMHANZ)
This course goes beyond the rhetoric of “voice of the child” and targets the essence of the child-inclusive intervention: the inextricable combination of healthy child development and the intact parental coalition. Consideration is given to the harm created for children and young people when parental conflict becomes an impasse. The loss of contact with a parent has a profoundly adverse and long-term impact on a child.
This training documents why we include children, and how. Regardless of your context of practice with children and families or your preferred method of working, the information provided in this course will support your work to promote the well-being of children and families.
The fee for the course is just $184.00 (GST inclusive), as a way of making the training accessible to all who work in the family justice arena.
Registration, payment and immediate access to material is now available at this link: Jillgoldson.thinkific.com
The receipt of payment will be sent automatically to your email. CPD points will be given for attendance, as well as a certificate of completion.
For any further queries: jill.goldson@gmail.com
