[Child custody restrictions according to sections 1666, 1666a BGB from the child and adolescent psychiatry viewpoint--legal and practical principles].

Within the clinical practice of child and adolescent psychiatry, the needs of the child are recurrently endangered by parents' expectations and/or behaviour. The task of the doctors, therapists and local authority social workers is to work together with the child's parents or guardians in order to assess their parental competence and if need be to contravene the latter with a care order. According to German law there are different possibilities of restricting the patients' rights or making a care order for children and adolescents up to the age of 18 years. The local authority social services department may make a care order especially according to the wishes of the child or the adolescent or when other circumstances necessitate it, and obtain parental consent afterwards (section 42 KJHG). The rights of the parents may be restricted in either single areas eg the place of the child's residence (section 1666 BGB) or completely (section 1666a BGB) in cooperation with the guardianship judge. The task of the judge is to decide within the legal context whether such a restriction of parental responsibility is necessary to protect the child.