Resources for assessing harmful conflict
Harmful conflict can lead to poor outcomes for children and this guide supports the assessment of this, and provides information on the range of interventions to support successful co-parenting post-separation, if this is a safe scenario for the children. It is important to distinguish between harmful conflict and domestic abuse within our cases, and for our Family Court Advisers (FCAs) to assess the impact of harmful conflict on the child involved. Our FCAs consider the severity of the parental behaviours alongside the impact of these behaviours on the child using the same scale.
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Tools and guidance
Click here for the harmful conflict guide
Resource
Guidance on use
Source
Dispute resolution skills and techniques guidance Private law: This is a brief guide for Family Court Advisers (FCAs) undertaking dispute resolution (DR) work. It sets out some approaches that can help parents refocus on the child’s experience, rather than on their own conflict. Cafcass Parenting styles tool Private law: This tool sets out how parenting style has a significant impact on children’s outcomes and tend to fit under one of four categories: authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent, and neglectful. Cafcass Distinguishing domestic abuse and harmful conflict tool Private law: This tool is designed to be used early in the life of a case to assist the FCA in deciding which will be of most assistance in their assessment: the blue domestic abuse tools and guidance or the orange harmful conflict tools and guidance. It is not designed to be a diagnostic tool in and of itself and does not replace professional judgement. Cafcass Cafcass Positive Co-parenting Programme suitability criteria tool Private law: FCAs can use this tool to assess the suitability of a case for the Cafcass Positive Parenting Programme (CPPP) Cafcass Children’s beliefs about parental divorce tool Private law: To be used when working with children to understanding their beliefs about their parents’ divorce. Kurdek and Berg (1987) Supervision of Children’s Arrangements – Assessing Relatives and Friends (SCAARF) tool Tool for assessing wider family and friends to support contact. Cafcass