Parents and carers
Child arrangements after divorce and separation
If you’re splitting up, divorcing, or you’ve been separated for a while, you might find that sorting out the practicalities can feel overwhelming, especially if you have children. But there are tools and information which can help you and your family through separation.
Find out more about child arrangements after divorce and separation
Care proceedings
If a local authority has serious concerns about the safety or welfare of a child, it can apply to the court for permission to take action to protect the child. These are called ‘care’ or ‘supervision’ proceedings. After receiving an application from a local authority, the court will then usually request for Cafcass to become involved in the case. Children can be taken into care when they are:
- suffering, or are likely to suffer, serious harm from the way they are looked after;
- beyond the control of a parent or carer.
Find out more about care proceedings
Adoption proceedings
Adoption is a legal decision that permanently transfers parental responsibility for a child from one family to another. The role of Cafcass during the adoption process depends on whether or not the birth parents agree to the adoption.
Find out more about adoption proceedings
Adoption
There are two types of adoption where Cafcass may be involved. Non-agency adoption The court may ask Cafcass to become involved in cases where […]
Improving Child and Family Arrangements
Improving Child and Family Arrangements (ICFA) is the service designed by Cafcass to help families agree safe, beneficial, and sustainable spending time with arrangements when […]
Cafcass DNA testing service
In some family court proceedings there is a disagreement about who is a child’s parent. If this disagreement means a current application for a child arrangements […]
Care proceedings
When will a local authority make an application to take children into care? The types of concerns that may trigger a local authority to […]
Child Contact Interventions
Child Contact Interventions (CCIs) are short-term interventions of supervised contact. They are designed to help adults and children establish safe and beneficial contact when this is […]
Divorce and separation
Cafcass becomes involved in cases only at the request of the court. After the court has received the application from either you or the […]
Domestic abuse
Our primary role, in every case we’re involved with, is to safeguard the child and ensure that their best interests are represented within the court […]
Surrogacy
When a child is born through surrogacy, the intended parents will need to apply to the court for a parental order. This transfers legal parenthood […]
Directory of Providers
This directory contains details of the Providers that are commissioned, and funded, to deliver services by Cafcass on behalf of the Ministry of Justice […]
Resources for parents and carers
On this page you will find information, resources and links to organisations that could help with a range of different topics. Click the titles to see […]