Contact orders – more harm than good?

Research commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, reported in the New Law Journal of 1 November, indicates that applications to the court for contact orders ‘appear to exacerbate rather than resolve parental disputes’. A study of 61 families found court interventions had a limited capacity to shift ‘not working’ into ‘working’ contact. Resources should be redirected towards more creative work to improve parental and parent-child relationships, rather than repeated attempts at imposing a solution. However, the ‘no order’ principle appeared to be working well, enabling parents who can, to make workable contact arrangements without external intervention.