Cafcass welcomes Child Focused Courts

Cafcass welcomes the Ministry of Justice announcement that private law reform will be implemented in all family courts in England and Wales over the next three years.

Extending the benefits seen in areas where the reforms are already happening—such as involving children earlier in proceedings so that a decision can be made more quickly about their family arrangements —is a significant step forward in securing better outcomes for them.

Alongside reducing delay for children and families, the reforms intend a more robust focus on safe and appropriate decision-making, including for child and adult survivors of domestic abuse. In this respect, Cafcass is determined to continue improving the guidance and training for family court advisers about how to support the assessment of harm and risk of future harm in proceedings where domestic abuse is a factor – including assessing the safety of existing arrangements when applications to the court are made and setting out exactly how children and their protective adults experience, harm, abuse and coercively controlling behaviours. 

Seeing more children than is currently permissible in the Child Arrangements Programme and in shorter timescales with only one decisions hearing requires fundamental change to internal arrangements and the associated resourcing. Cafcass therefore welcomes today’s announcement that additional funding is being made available to recruit more social workers on a permanent basis.

Cafcass will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Justice and other partners to make the absolute most of this opportunity for children, their families and carers. 

Jacky Tiotto, Cafcass Chief Executive, said:

“Along with colleagues at Cafcass, I am so grateful on behalf of children - especially those whose lives are blighted by family conflict, domestic abuse, physical, emotional and sexual harm, to be part of a change programme of such magnitude. 

The advice provided to the court by family court advisers will now be informed at the first and single decision hearing by children whose needs will have been directly assessed. They will have been seen and heard. They will have influenced the first report that is considered. The impact of harm and the risk of future harm to them will be in front a judge in their words and more quickly. This is beyond what we have all hoped for and is a remarkable achievement for all those who have campaigned and worked to make this possible. 

Colleagues at Cafcass report such benefits from working in this way – all say that children being at the centre of their own proceedings with the loudest voice is what is most likely to transform outcomes for them. It is so encouraging to see one system working to this end.”