Cafcass trial cuts number of care cases reaching court

Findings from a pilot to test FCA involvement in pre-proceedings found that four out of ten cases using this model were settled outside of court, compared to a quarter of cases nationally.

This was largely achieved through the FCA working with extended family members to arrange kinship care arrangements within the pilot, which is run by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass).

Research into the pilot, called Cafcass Plus and taking place in Coventry and Warwickshire, also found that where cases did reach court they were concluded in less time.

The average length of care proceedings in cases where a FCA was involved at an early stage was 36.3 weeks, compared to 42.6 weeks for cases where they were not involved.

Researchers found FCA involvement at an earlier stage led to “more coherent assessments and plans".

However, only a small proportion of cases using the FCA managed to cut the length of proceedings to the government’s target of 26 weeks.

Cafcass chief executive Anthony Douglas said the results pave the way for closer involvement of FCAs in pre-proceedings nationally.

He said: “The Cafcass Plus pilot has broken new ground in terms of joint working between Cafcass, local authorities and parents at the earliest possible stage.

“The reductions in delay delivered by the Cafcass Plus pilot led to us establishing our policy of becoming as involved as we can be in pre-proceedings, resources permitting. I think this could be a precursor of a wider early intervention service in public family law.”

The evaluation was carried out between May 2011 and May 2013 and looked at 26 cases with a FCA involved and 30 comparison cases without.

FCA involvement in pre-proceedings has also been piloted in Liverpool since August last year. A report on this, also released this week, found that it was too early to tell if there had been similar reductions in delays and cases coming to court.

But anecdotal evidence from children’s professionals, particularly social workers, involved was positive towards the use of FCAs at an early stage.

Researchers said: “Social workers consistently found the independence, expertise and experience of the FCA invaluable in supporting or challenging the local authority assessment and in bolstering the case for additional resources to support families.”