Pilot launched of information-sharing meetings between social workers and Cafcass Guardians ahead of first case management hearings
The Department for Education (DfE) has commissioned a pilot to test whether information-sharing meetings between social workers and Cafcass Guardians after the issuing of care proceedings but prior to the first Case Management Hearing would curb delays.
The five-month pilot commenced in August and runs until December 2023.
Research in Practice, a programme of charity The Dartington Hall Trust, revealed that it is working with 25 local authorities and children’s trusts and their local Cafcass partners, with support from local and national staff in His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to deliver the “scoping pilot”.
The pilot is one of a number of national initiatives on reducing delay in the family courts.
In public law, the annual national average for the time children spend in the family justice system over 2021 to 2023 is 46 weeks, when the statutory requirement is 26 weeks.
In November 2022, the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane reiterated the need for practitioners to “reconnect with the core principles of the Public Law Outline”, to ensure that the statutory requirement of completing each case within 26 weeks is met once again.
Looking at how information-sharing meetings may reduce delay, analysis by the Association of Directors of Childrens Services (ADCS) and Cafcass of cases exceeding 48 weeks identified that preparation for the initial Case Management Hearing “may be improved if a Cafcass Guardian has a clearer understanding of work undertaken with the child and family prior to and in pre-proceedings”.
Guardians would therefore be better informed about how far the work had supported positive change for the family, and about social workers’ analyses concerning the timing of the application for proceedings and the type of order sought.
“In some instances, this increased clarity may reduce uncertainty that leads to requests for new expert assessments at the CMH,” said Research in Practice.
It added: “The evidence is clear that family-led decision making at earlier stages in local authority/Children’s Trust involvement in their lives can improve outcomes, and in some cases divert away from family courts towards family-led responses.”
After the pilot ends in December 2023, the Department for Education will “review and assess whether to extend the pilot more widely”.
Helen Lincoln, Chair of the ADCS Families, Communities & Young People Policy Committee said: “The backlog we are experiencing in the family courts and the length of time care proceedings are taking does not serve children’s best interests. Everyone within the system is working tirelessly and rightly trying to prioritise children but the lasting impacts of the pandemic and a rising number of children coming into contact with children’s services adds extra difficulties.
“ADCS welcomes efforts to explore ways that will allow care proceedings to be resolved quicker and become a less adversarial process. We know that timeliness is important to children in progressing permanence plans and we are all committed to doing this as best we can, however, our main aim should always be meeting the individual needs of a child or young person.”
Lottie Winson
