What is CAFCASS and what role to do they have in a court case?

When children are involved in a family law case it can be an overwhelming time for them. They may be caught in the middle of disputing parents or family members and feel they have no voice; this is where CAFCASS comes in.

CAFCASS stands for ‘Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. CAFCASS is a public body independent of the courts and social services which looks after the interests of children involved in family proceedings. CAFCASS officers are usually qualified and experienced social workers and advise the family courts in England on what they consider to be in the best interests of the children involved in the proceedings.  We tend to refer to them as ‘the Court’s eyes and ears’.

CAFCASS will carry out Safeguarding checks on every case which goes to court involving a dispute between their parents, for example when one parent makes an application to court to be able to spend (more) time with their children, or if a parent makes an application to move away from the local area or change the children’s school.  Before the first Court hearing (First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment, FHDRA) a CAFCASS officer will check whether the parents, or anyone closely connected with them, have any criminal records and ascertain if the family are known to the local authority. The CAFCASS officer will also usually want to speak to the parents to find out what the current situation is and more details about the application.  They will also want to know if either parent has any safety concerns about the children spending time with the other parent.

The CAFCASS officer will then prepare a letter which is sent to the Court and the parents a few days before the FHDRA and is known as a ‘safeguarding letter’. What happens next usually depends on the outcome of CAFCASS’s early enquiries. If no safeguarding or welfare concerns are identified, CAFCASS may try and help the parties reach an agreement at the FHDRA by recommending mediation or some other way forward which could assist in the parents reaching an agreement.  Their involvement at this stage would end.  If the parents can reach an agreement then this would be drafted into an Order and put before the court to be approved.  The court proceedings would then be at an end.

However, if CAFCASS have any safeguarding concerns, they may recommend that the Court orders a more detailed report be undertaken concerning the child/children’s welfare.  This is known as a Section 7 report and when this is undertaken the CAFCASS officer will generally meet all the parents and also the children.  Enquiries are made with the children’s school and other family members if it’s appropriate to do so.  Such reports also tend to address the wishes and feelings of the child/children to the extent that they are able to express them, and a child’s age is very relevant here.

This report will include CAFCASS recommendations on next steps and how the matter should be resolved, with reference to what the Officer considers to be in the best interests of the child/children. The Court will make decisions based on what is in the child/children’s best interests and will need to consider the welfare checklist under section 1 of the Children Act 1989 whilst doing so.

Even though the Court isn’t obliged to follow the recommendations by CAFCASS it usually places a great deal of weight on the recommendations.  The CAFCASS Officer is after all a neutral individual within the proceedings who is investigating the circumstances of the case so as to recommend an appropriate outcome. It is however possible in some cases that the parties disagree with the recommendations of CAFCASS and as such further investigations/court hearings are needed.

At Chadwick Lawrence our specialist Family Law team has experience in representing parents in court proceedings and can advise on your application and the contents of a CAFCASS report – just get in touch!