Good morning Dr Shaw,

 

Acknowledging receipt of your OIA request below. You can except a response
on or before 15 December 2017.

 

Kind regards,

   

[1]http://www.justice.govt.nz/courts/shared... Alex Pickard
Advisor |
Official
Correspondence
Communications
Ministry of
Justice | Tāhū
o te Ture

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dr Robert Shaw
[mailto:[FYI request #6851 email]]
Sent: Saturday, 18 November 2017 7:34 p.m.
To: correspondence, official <[Ministry of Justice request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - FDR mediation policy

 

Dear Ministry of Justice,

FRD MEDIATION OIA REQUEST

I wish to acknowledge all the progressive work that the Ministry has done
over the last few years to establish new legislation and facilities for
FDR.

There are some specific matters of policy, and practice as you see it, I
want to clarify with you.

1. Does the Ministry agree that whilst the statutes and the UN Declaration
prioritise the interests of the child, the procedures required, or used,
in FDR mediation do not ensure or guarantee this is achieved?

This is because the decision-makers are the parents and there is no
mandatory requirement for the views of children to be recorded, nor must
it be stated in any report of the mediation how the views of the child
were obtained, nor is there any requirement for the parents to say why
they chose to deviate from the views expressed by their children. The
mediator is not obliged to report on any of this to the Ministry. Thus,
parents may, if they wish, simply ignore the preferences of mature,
rational children, even though it might be argued that this is against the
law.  Are the reasons I suggest correct, according to the Ministry? Can
you please provide me with any relevant policy or procedural guidelines
about this matter?

2. Is it correct that FDR mediators may interview children for section 6
purposes? If so, is it at their discretion who is present in such
interviews and what records are made?

3. As the decision-makers in FDR mediation are the parents (usually) do
you consider them to be bound by the requirements for “decision-makers” in
the Care of Children Act 2004, particularly, Section 5 “Principles
relating to child’s welfare and best interests”. If not, why not? If so,
what requirements are there that mediators ensure that each and every item
in that section is addressed by the decision-makers and how must this be
recorded and reported to your Ministry? What monitoring of does the
Ministry undertake to ensure there is compliance with section 5 in FRD
mediations?

4. International research and NZ research indicates that the children
involved in FDR are "at risk". What mandatory provision is there for the
violence, depression and suicide assessments to be conducted by a
counsellor or psychologist who see these children? If there is no
mandatory provision for such assessments, why not? If there is, what are
the procedures for the counsellor and the mediator in such circumstances,
and do you require recording of this in the mediation documentation (as
opposed to the violence registers and responsibilities of counsellors
outside of the FDR role). If mediators interview children are they obliged
to conduct violence, depression or suicide assessments with them and
report in accordance with the requirements for counsellors? Does the
Ministry see any conflict with the confidentiality requirements for
mediation in such situations and is there any policy guidance provided to
mediators in relation to this?

5. The rights of the child to be heard in FDR relate to each individual
child. Given the nature of family dynamics and the potential for selective
reporting to parents after assessment interviews, is there a policy on the
grouping of children to ascertain their views? If so, what is it, please?
How do you provide for the resource implications that derive from each
child having an individual right to be heard and a right to privacy? The
five child family could require five interviews whilst the single child
family requires just one.  

6. In the financial and time allocation for each mediation, how much of
the resource is mandated for work with children? This refers to both the
ascertaining of their views and counselling to issues. How much assessment
time and counselling time is each child entitled to in the process? For
comparison, how much counselling time is the entitlement of each parent?

Yours faithfully,

 

Dr Robert Shaw

 

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Good morning Dr Shaw

 

Please find attached a response to your OIA request regarding Family
Dispute Resolution.

 

Regards

 

Antony

 

 

   

[1]Description: Description: Description: Antony Paltridge
http://justice.govt.nz/courts/shared/jus...
Team Leader (Media and
External Relations) |
Communication Services
DDI: +64 4 918 8980

[2]www.justice.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

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