If you live in West Yorkshire, Stoke, Worcester, West Midlands, Hampshire, Isle of Wight or Dorset

On 17 March 2026, the Ministry of Justice announced that a new approach to private family law cases, called the Child Focused Model, will be rolled out in family courts across England and Wales. This follows the success of a pilot to test new ways of improving children’s experiences in family court proceedings and reducing delays. 
The Child Focused Model was introduced and trialled in several family court areas where Cafcass and partner agencies worked together differently to better understand children’s needs and streamline the process. As they were part of the trial, the following family courts already use the Child Focused Model: 

•    Birmingham and Solihull 
•    Dorset, Bournemouth and Weymouth 
•    West Yorkshire (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) 
•    Wolverhampton 
•    Stoke 
•    Worcester 
•    Hampshire 
•    Isle of Wight 

Families in these locations experience a more joined up approach, with earlier opportunities for children to explain their wishes and feelings, closer coordination between agencies, and a process designed to reduce the length of proceedings.  

Our role 
As your application was filed in a Child Focused Court, we will progress your application in the way in which all cases in these courts are dealt with. This means we will: 

•    Review the available information about your family. 
•    Carry out safeguarding checks with the police and relevant local authorities. 
•    Send you information explaining our involvement. 
•    Arrange a call with a Family Court Adviser (FCA) to understand your family situation and how it is affecting your child. 
•    Make decisions about next steps in line with the Child Focused Courts model. 
 

You can find out more about the national rollout of Child Focused Courts by viewing our March 2026 news announcement.