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"Internal globalization" has become a common phenomenon which, among other things, has increased the number of mixed-national couples due to the greater mobility of people and the globalization of trade and commerce. Unanticipated difficulties can follow from the breakdown of such relationships for both children and parents if the custodial parent leaves the family's former habitual residence with the child. This is especially true for the left-behind parent. / The starting point for this study was the discussion among experts as to whether an Additional Protocol to the 1980 Child Abduction Convention might resolve the inherent weak protection of access rights. To answer this question concerning the necessity of such an Additional Protocol, this thesis provides an overview of the relevant existing and future international legal frameworks that address child protection and parental responsibilities and shows the evolution in child law from a formerly neglected issue to a high-profile topic. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Access arrangements for birth parents of crown wards are a concern for child protection workers. Data on 84 crown wards were collected from 11 in care workers at a Children's Aid Society in Ontario, to determine whether best practice guidelines were being observed. Best practice derived from literature was operationalized as: (1) inclusion of birth parents and others in decisions affecting the child, and (2) connectivity ---maintaining family ties. Regression analyses were performed to identify predictors of inclusion and connectivity scores. Results showed three significant predictors of inclusion---worker knowledge, years in child welfare, and birth parents' source of income---and two predictors of connectivity---worker knowledge and parents' source of income. Findings suggest that agency training and support of workers can have a positive effect on implementation of best practice. The effect of income source is a puzzle, as income from employment was associated with lower inclusion scores, but higher connectivity scores.

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LL.M. / Please refer to full text to view abstract