Learning Objectives: 

• What is International kinship care?
• Why understanding nationality and immigration status is important.
• How international regulations are relevant and are applied.
• How and when to collaborate with foreign authorities.
• How jurisdiction applies and is relevant.
• How to assess prospective carers overseas
• How to collaborate with foreign authorities and ensure that orders are mirrored and/or recognised in the receiving country.
• How to ensure that overseas kinship placements are properly supported
• How to plan a child's transition to an overseas kinship placement

About the speakers: 

Fiona Robinson, Senior Social Worker, CFAB

Fiona is a HCPC registered Social Worker, graduating with a MA in Social Work from Middlesex University, London and a MA in International and Community Development from Deakin University, Australia. She is the Senior Social Worker at Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), where she leads on developing the capacity of CFAB’s partner agencies in Asia and Africa. Prior to CFAB, Fiona worked in the human rights sector with statutory agencies and charities in the UK, Australia and Asia region for over 15 years.

Maria Wright, Senior Legal Advisor, CFAB

Maria Wright is a solicitor and doctoral researcher. Her background is as a solicitor in private practice specialising in cases involving the international movement of children; child abduction, jurisdictional disputes, forced marriage and care proceedings with an international dimension. She is a co-author of the practitioner’s text, ‘International Issues in Family Law: The 1996 Hague Convention and Brussels II Revised’ (Jordans, 2015) and has published widely on law in practice in child protection issues. She is currently completing a PhD on the operation of private international law in care proceedings in England and is a Senior Legal Adviser at CFAB.