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 they are finding it difficult to do so on their own.

Referral by Cafcass to an ICFA service

1. ICFA work is short term, court ordered in private law cases only and has four expected key outcomes for families:
2. Reducing barriers and resistance to agreeing arrangements and managing any risks so that these are safe
3. Promoting positive communication within families
4. Ensuring children’s wishes and feelings are heard and considered
5. Helping families agree a Parenting Plan to avoid future issues arising

The work will be tailored to meet the needs and outcomes of each individual family and should include application of learning from the Separated Parents Information Programme. ICFA work takes place over a few weeks and may include, but is not limited to:

• Meeting the parents together and/or individually to help resolve issues and prepare them for spending time with the child/ren
• Direct work with the child/ren to prepare them for spending time with the adult
• Observation of the adult spending time with the child/ren in a contact centre, the home, the community, or any other suitable settings

ICFA referrals are funded by Cafcass and are delivered by our contracted service providers. To view the provider in your area, see the Directory of Providers.

More information can be found on the Improving Child and Family Arrangements (ICFA) factsheet.