Expanding the role of the Child Support Agency so staff can referparents to counselling and mediation services could save the Governmentmoney, say researchers.
Researchers from the National Centre for Social Research found measuresaimed at establishing more harmonious relationships between separatedparents could benefit both parents and the Government because parentswho trust each other are more likely to comply with financialarrangements.
Anne Kazimirski, research director of the families and children group atthe centre, said: "We found that the quality of the relationship betweenparents was very much affected by contact arrangements and howsuccessful financial arrangements were. Therefore we suggest thatbroadening the service to cover signposting to mediation and counsellingwould benefit parents. Improved relationships between parents could helptackle the causes of non and erratic payment. This in turn could reducethe Child Support Agency's role in cases where both parents werecompliant, allowing resources to be concentrated on the more difficultcases."
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
