CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESSES

1
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE FAMILY DISPUTE RESOLUTION
PROCESSES

• Dr Susan Armstrong
• School of Law, UWS
• Family Relationships Services Australia
  Conference
• Cairns, November 2008

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Overview

• Developing culturally responsive FDR in two
  Family Relationship Centres (FRCs) in greater
  western Sydney Parramatta Bankstown
• UWS consortium partner (research) with Anglicare
  Centacare lead agencies

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What is it?

• Culturally responsive service provision
• Culturally responsive FDR
• FRC access
• FDR process outcomes
• acknowledge cultural assumptions framing law
  FDR
• not discriminatory and does not jeopardise the
  rights of others, is consistent with law

4
CALD

• Culture - process - dynamic - hidden
• Ethnicity self-perceived shared identity - 2006
  
• 24 OS born, 16 NES country
• 16 speak LOE 26 one parent born OS
• GWS 55 speak LOE Arabic, Chinese, Turkish,
  Greek, Korean, Vietnamese
• GWS new emerging communities Sudan, Iraq,
  Afghanistan

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Culturally responsive FDR process
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Cultural competence

• Culturally aware, sensitive competent
• Organisational policy, service model, links
• Professional training, experience, disposition -
  outside ? in
• Aware of how cultural diversity expresses itself
  among individuals within the group
• Willing to let family be expert
• Aware cultural context self, practice, law
• Sawriker Katz, 2008

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Intake

• Culturally constructed
• cultural norms disclosure sensitive information
• Potential complexity - in person, rapport, time
  support
• Identify cultural and linguistic context,
  barriers
• Who is family structures, obligations, kinship
• Ensure client understand concepts
• Listening, clarifying, probing
• Literacy providing further information

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Assessment

• Capacity to freely negotiate is cultural context
  any other matter relevant?
• Explore cultural and linguistic context
• Factors inhibit CALD women disclosing violence
• Diagnose cultural dimensions of dispute
• Knowledge of potential cross-cultural issues

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Pre-FDR

• Ensure process suited to needs parties
• Discuss cultural attitudes physical space,
  privacy, role 3rd party, role others
• Recognise cultural communication patterns
  stress, affective
• Expectations stages, opening statement,
  alternatives, concerns, caucus, concepts

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Family Law Act cultural context

• Best interests
• Monocultural parenting norms
• Shared parenting
• Principle childs right to enjoy his/her
  culture, including with others who share it
• BI childs background (including lifestyle,
  culture and traditions) of child parents

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Parenting programs

• Child in focus, Building connections
• Cultural values
• Process style
• Parenting practice, expectations roles highly
  culturally determined gendered

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Children

• Right to enjoy which cultures?
• Intersection with other issues (mental health,
  DV, economic pressure, trauma)
• Hearing CALD childrens voices?
• Child inclusive consultations

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FDR Parenting

• FDRP advisory obligations s63DA
• Equal time / substantial and significant time
• Events and occasions that are of special
  significance to the parent or child
• Parenting culturally determined
• Complex disputes
• Child rearing development expectations
• Consider extended family, cultural events
• Strategies about how to have conversation

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Conclusion

• Significant potential
• Aware limits
• Research
• Identify how FRCs can assist CALD communities
  after separation
• Identify implement best practice culturally
  responsive FDR
• Evaluate its operation in two FRCs GWS