FOCUS GROUPS ON FAMILY LAW ISSUES RELATED TO CUSTODY AND ACCESS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OVERVIEW

Ten focus groups were conducted across the country, five composed of women and five of men.  The research did not show major differences of opinion between men and women.  Both agreed on all three aspects covered under the research:

The two main values and beliefs behind the views expressed by the groups were:

The Well-Being of Children

The Obligations/Responsibilities of Parents

PARENTING ARRANGEMENTS

Participants were asked to review three models for parenting arrangements following a separation or divorce, and were then asked to choose the arrangement they think should be used:

The majority of participants were not comfortable with the status quo-only about one in ten favoured maintaining it, while the rest supported changes on how parenting arrangements are arrived at.

Of those who supported changes, the majority (two-thirds of participants) favoured the parenting arrangement described in Approach 3 (see page 6 for a detailed description).  The major perceived advantages were:

There is one major reservation some participants had about this approach.  It assumes that parents can talk to one another and be reasonable immediately or shortly after a separation or divorce.  And, as participants pointed out, this is often not the case.  Many spontaneously suggested that mediation would be necessary to give this approach the best chance of working.

TERMINOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH PARENTING ARRANGEMENTS

The focus groups included a discussion of various terms in the context of the different parenting approaches.  These terms were:

The majority of participants considered shared parenting to be the most positive phrase to associate with parenting arrangements because it implies the involvement of both parents in the lives of their children.  Most felt the term could describe the parenting arrangements in approaches 2 and 3.

The term parental responsibility is seen to be the most neutral phrase.  With only a few exceptions, the majority said this term would apply to all three approaches.

THE "BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD" CONCEPT AND CRITERIA

All participants agreed that "Best Interests of the Child" is a reasonable approach for the courts to use in determining parenting arrangements:

Quite a few participants said they had difficulty attributing different levels of importance to the 15 criteria because they felt that all on the list were important issues in the consideration of parenting arrangements.

The five criteria that participants considered to be most important in defining the best interests of the child are, in ranked order:

INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE

To develop policy options for improving the family law system as it relates to custody and access and to develop communication strategies and messages that support the Department of Justice Canada's eventual policy positions, the Department undertook focus groups to:

METHOD

Number and Location of Groups

A total of ten three-hour focus groups were conducted between March 8 and March 16, 2000 with parents of children under 18 as follows:

Sessions with:

Total

Halifax

Montreal (French)

Toronto

Edmonton

Vancouver

Women

5

1

1

1

1

1

Men

5

1

1

1

1

1

Total

10

2

2

2

2

2

Participant Qualifications

For all of the focus groups, the following participant qualifications and quotas were applied to ensure a good cross-section of parents in each session.

Marital status #

Married

2

Common-law

1

Divorced/separated

5

Single

1

Age of Participant #

19-34

3

35-44

4

45-54

2

Education Level of Participant #

Completed high school

3

Some college/university

3

Graduated college/university

3

Household Income of Participant #

< $30 K

3

$30 K - $49K

2

$50 K - $69K

2

$70 K and over

2

We also targeted for a good cross-section on working status and occupation.

Candidates were excluded from participation on the following bases:

Number of Participants

In total, there were 82 participants in the research, 42 men and 40 women.

Participant Incentives

The following incentives were paid:

Group Procedures and Discussion Agenda

Copies of the study materials can be found in the Appendices.

At each group session, the moderator gave participants some background information and then provided them with two hand-outs.

Participants were given one hour to read the two handouts titled, Parental Arrangements Following Separation and Divorce and Issues:  How Can the Law Determine What is "In the Best Interests of the Child?"

The handout Parental Arrangements Following Separation and Divorce contained:

The handout Issues:  How Can the Law Determine What is "In the Best Interests of the Child?" contained:

For the following two hours, participants discussed their views on parenting arrangements including the terminology currently in use or that could be used to describe parenting arrangements and the "best interests of the child" criteria.

LIMITATIONS OF FOCUS GROUP QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

By its very nature, qualitative research is exploratory and directional only.  It does not seek to quantify the results of the research, nor do the research results represent the attitudes and opinions of the population as a whole.

However, qualitative research does produce a richness and depth of response not readily available through other methods of research.  The insight and direction provided by qualitative research makes it an appropriate research tool for exploring the public's reactions to the issues under consideration by the Department of Justice Canada.