What is cafcass ?
CAFCASS is an organisation which looks after the welfare of children involved in Family Law proceedings. A CAFCASS Officer (also called Family Reporter or Family Court Advisor) is trained in social work but independent from Social Services. They carry out a number of different duties including mediation, investigation into family circumstances, make recommendations to the Court and may assist the family if ordered to do so by the court. What are the standards which CAFCASS should adhere to? CAFCASS works to standards set out in a document called the National Standards. What recommendations might a CAFCASS Officer make? If ordered to carry out an investigation and report, recommendations might include: · which parent the children should live with, · the time the children should spend in each parent’s care, · the type(s) of Order which the CAFCASS Officer considers relevant to the family circumstance. The Judge may direct CAFCASS to investigate certain issues related to the applications
