Decision-making within a child’s timeframe

This overview of research evidence has been commissioned in response to the Family Justice Review recommendation for consistent training and development for family justice professionals, including a greater emphasis on child development. It aims to bring together key research evidence to facilitate understanding among professionals working in the family justice system in areas relating to:

• neuroscience perspectives on children’s cognitive, social and emotional development;
• the implications of maltreatment on childhood and adulthood wellbeing;
• evidence concerning the outcomes of interventions by the courts and children’s social care; and
• timeframes for intervening and why they are out of kilter with those for children.