The welfare officer as expert?– Reporting for the courts

Abstract

The courts have made their views about the status and importance of welfare reports clear in a number of judgments over the years. They have also made clear their expectations of the scope of welfare officers' inquiries in the course of investigating issues related to the welfare of a child, often in the context of judgments which have been critical of reports in particular instances. In general however, there has been little information available with which to assess the extent to which welfare reports generally meet the expectations of courts. This article refers to results from some recent research into the work of court welfare officers which shed some further light on these issues and which raise some important questions about court welfare practice.

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