A Yorkshire childcare law specialist has visited Paraguay to provide training for members of the judiciary and share UK legal best practice with government ministers and officials.
Ranjit Uppal, Director and Solicitor Advocate at Switalskis solicitors and a Deputy District Judge with 20 years’ experience in children and families’ rights, was part of a delegation of legal specialists and social care experts representing the charity Strengthening Families for Abandoned Children (SFAC) in Paraguay this month.
Alongside meetings with the State Attorney General and State General Defender, the team provided training for 200 judges, prosecutors, public defenders and civil society organisations.
Ranjit Uppal says, “The aim of the training was to help strengthen the judicial system for protecting children and adolescents in Paraguay through the development of knowledge and skills gained from the experiences of the English childcare and family law systems.
“The focus was very much on child protection, family support, domestic adoption and foster care, and the training looked at how assessments, best interest decisions and judgements are made using the experiences of the welfare checklist, children act legislation and co-working between legal and social work professionals.”
Switalskis director Ranjit is no stranger to sharing best practice with overseas legal practitioners. Last month in Leeds, he hosted a delegation of professionals from Paraguay specialising in children’s rights and wellbeing, alternative care and adoption to learn about best practice in the UK and report back to the Paraguayan government.
The six-day visit was designed to build on last month’s event, and was organised by the Ministry of Children and Adolescents and the Paraguay Protege Families movement, with support from the British Embassy, Role UK and Strengthening Families for Abandoned Children (SFAC).
