Who are CAFCASS and what will they do?

Cafcass become involved when an Application is made to Court for a Child Arrangements Order…

CAFCASS stands for The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Cafcass will automatically become involved in every court case involving a child in England and Wales (unless the Local Authority are appointed instead).

Cafcass Private Law Data confirms that Cafcass received ‘..4,262 new private law cases in September 2020 which is 540 cases (14.5%) more than the same period in 2019. These cases involved 6,566 children, which is 835 (14.6%) more children than September 2019.’

Usually, a Cafcass advisor is allocated to your case ahead of the first court hearing and will carry out initial checks against the family so that these can be reported to the court from the outset.

These checks can involve background checks with the Police and Social Services to ascertain whether there has been any involvement with either parent or any relevant child before.

Often, a different CAFCASS officer will then take on a more detailed role in the case and carry out a further investigation before providing a report to the court usually setting out recommendations based upon the applications that have been made.

The Child’s view can be very important when it comes to Cafcass’ investigations and the older the child the more weight that may be given to their wishes and feelings.

For more information visit the Cafcass website:

https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/professionals/private-law-cases/

For advice and assistance about Private Children Act Proceedings please get in touch.

@ef_familylaw

02.11.2020