Applying Universal Principles of 'Best Interest': Practice Challenges across Transnational Jurisdictions, Cultural...

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Law
• International Relations

Background:

• Children requiring social services often have transnational family networks, posing challenges for UK child protection.
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) emphasizes the 'best interests of the child' principle.
• Kinship care cases involving international elements require specific considerations for child welfare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key issues in determining and upholding the best interests of children in transnational kinship care.
• To analyze how child protection professionals incorporate the UNCRC's 'best interests' principle in these cases.
• To examine findings from an exploratory study on international kinship care and related government data.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of key issues in transnational kinship care.
• Examination of child protection professionals' practices regarding the UNCRC.
• Review of an exploratory study by Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB) on international kinship care.
• Analysis of CFAB's Freedom of Information Requests to the UK government.
• Evaluation of legal and policy documents in England.
• Analysis of agency case records for children in cross-border kinship care.

Main Results:

• Challenges exist in applying the 'best interests' principle due to cultural relativity in international kinship care.
• Variations in family support structures across different social services impact child welfare.
• Inconsistent understanding and application of legislation and policy in transnational contexts were identified.
• Lack of clear markers to track the scale of children moving across borders for kinship care.

Conclusions:

• Effective child protection in international kinship care necessitates a nuanced understanding of cultural contexts and the UNCRC.
• Policy and practice require adaptation to address the complexities of transnational family structures and support.
• Further research and data collection are needed to accurately assess and support children in international kinship care.