Who are CAFCASS?

CAFCASS is the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service and is involved in public law cases involving local authority care proceedings and private law matters, such as where an application is made to the Family Court for a Child Arrangements Order. 

CAFCASS will be involved with almost all applications made to the Court in respect of a Child Arrangements Order. At the outset, a CAFCASS officer will undertake initial checks against the parties to see whether they have any police convictions or whether the local authority has been involved with the family. They will also speak to the parties about their concerns and make recommendations to the court in an initial safeguarding letter. If there are no safeguarding concerns CAFCASS are unlikely to be required to be involved any further. 

If there are safeguarding concerns and if required, the court may direct that CAFCASS prepares a Section 7 report if there are concerns about the child’s welfare. The CAFCASS officer will undertake a full investigation and obtain information about the family from the police, the child’s GP and their school, and the local authority if relevant. They will meet the parents and speak to the child about their views if they are old enough. The Section 7 report will be submitted to the court with recommendations and there will be a further hearing for the court to consider the report.

If you would like any further information or advice in relation to child arrangements or prohibited steps orders our specialist family lawyers are happy to help. Our lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and provide assistance to clients across the West Midlands including: Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall. For all new enquiries, please call 01902 328 365, alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in contact.