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In the case of Joanna Kramer vs. Ted Kramer, in the interest of Billy Kramer, the legal framework revolves around child custody. It appears that Ms. Kramer was absent for an extended period of time, leaving Billy in the custody of Ted Kramer. Per the video, however, it doesn’t appear that there was a previous custody order in place, leaving the two to dispute the matter in Family Court. According to The Delaware Courts, “under Delaware law, parents are joint natural custodians of their children. When parents live separate and apart, either or both parents may file a petition in Family Court asking the court aware custody to him/her” (n.d.). There are several steps that must take place once a petition for custody is filed in the state of Delaware. The other party must be served, both parents are required to participate in a parenting education course, and both parents must attend mediation before the case is seen by a judge (The Delaware Courts, n.d.).

The family, both mother, father and the child would benefit from a social worker’s services in this situation. According to Slater and Finck, “many of the skills that social workers already have, such as summarizing research, giving and receiving information, engaging, educating, mediating, advocating, assessing, problem solving, referring, monitoring, and evaluating, will be critical in the effective performance of the following functions” (2012). In this child custody case, it may be beneficial to call upon the local Department of Children and Youth Services as a courtesy, to do an inspection and evaluation of both Joanna and Ted’s homes. In addition, the worker assigned can meet with Billy as well. In the video, there appeared to be significant tension between Joanna and Ted. A child welfare worker would be able to assist the family in locating resources such as mental health treatment, domestic violence counseling, and/or trauma services for Billy, dependent upon their level of need. Despite family court having the ultimate say regarding the custody agreement between Joanna and Ted, a social worker in this scenario may be able to assist the family in working through some of their needs prior to court.

After the custody agreement has been ordered, either parent must take the other back to court if a new arrangement in requested. In this matter, Joanna and Ted reside in different states. Per the Federal “Full Faith and Credit” custody law, every state must abide and enforce custody orders made by another state (FindLaw, 2018).

References

Slater, L. K., Finck, K. R. (2012). Social Work Practice and the Law. Springer Publishing Company.

Custody Overview. Custody – Family Court – Delaware Courts – State of Delaware. (n.d.). https://courts.delaware.gov/family/custody/ (Links to an external site.).

Interstate “Full Faith and Credit” Custody Law. Findlaw. (2018, November 8). https://www.findlaw.com/family/child-custody/interstate-full-faith-and-credit-custody-law.html#:~:text=Full%20Faith%20And%20Credit%20Given,a%20court%20of%20another%20state.

Tiffany’s Post:

Hypothetically, if we pretend this case is taking place in DE, the Kramer vs. Kramer child custody case would likely be adjudicated in Family Court. It is not clear if Ted Kramer has taken any legal actions to be awarded sole custody of their son Billy Kramer, while his ex-wife was away, nor if Joanna Kramer is filing for sole custody or joint custody. In Delaware, a parent filing for custody must file within the state in which the child has resided for the past 6 months. “Under Delaware law, parents are joint natural custodians of their children” (Delaware Courts, 2021), therefore, both parents have a right to their child. Although Joanna left her son for 15 months and has only seen him twice, she still has the right to be heard in court, where a judge will decide if reunification with her son is in the best interest of Billy.

As a social worker, I would interview all parties involved, Ted, Joanna, and Billy. Parents would be evaluated and the interview for Billy would be to get to know him and to see what his opinion on the situation is. If interviews take place in Ted and Joanna’s homes, a home visit would be conducted at that time as well. Home visits are to determine adequate living space for Billy, and also to make sure Ted or Joanna don’t have any safety hazards or other concerning living situations. As a social worker, my job is to evaluate the entire case and help determine what would be in the best interest of the child.

Custody situations in Delaware go to mediation prior to being heard before a judge. This is to give both parties a chance to come to their own agreement on the matter. If that is unable to happen, the case is then heard before a judge where he will make the final decision. Whether parents have joint custody or one parent has sole legal custody of a child, each parent has the right to receive information pertaining to the child from school information to school activities. As long as both parents are deemed fit, both parents have the right to reach their child by phone or by mail as well as visitation. One clip showed that Joanna came to a personal conclusion on the matter, which in turn became an agreement between her and Ted. Joanna decided to do what was in the best interest of Billy and not remove him from the home he has known all of his life. I can only hypothetically assume that she and Ted worked out a visitation schedule that worked for the both of them, so they could co-parent effectively. I would recommend both parents take a parenting class to educate them on how to handle possible upcoming situations in their new arrangement. However, I advocate that healthy co-parenting is always in the best interest of the child.

References

Delaware Courts. (2021). Custody Overview. https://courts.delaware.gov/family/custody/#:~:text=Under%20Delaware%20law%2C%20parents%20are%20joint%20natural%20custodians%20of%20their%20children.&text=Neither%20parent%20shall%20permanently%20remove,other%20parent%20or%20the%20Court