Child Participation in the Family Courts—Lessons from the Israeli Pilot Project

摘要

The purpose of this article is to present the Israeli governmental pilot project for child participation in the family courts that operated during 2006–2009 in two family courts and the findings of the formative evaluation of the pilot. According to this participation model, a special section for child participation, staffed by social workers, is established within the Family Court Social Services. At the section, the child receives an explanation about his/her participation rights and can choose between meeting the judge directly and relaying his/her words to the court through a social worker. The evaluation included data on ∼448 children aged 6–18 years and was based on interviews with social workers, parents, judges and children. The article focuses on the ongoing influence of the evaluation on the pilot's development and on setting policy in this area.