Under the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) proposals being developed, a "watching brief" system would replace guardians in all but the most pressing cases. This would involve a named practitioner monitoring proceedings by keeping regular contact with the child's solicitor.
Cafcass chief executive Anthony Douglas told CYP Now that although the proposals entail a degree of risk, they are needed if courts are to adequately deal with an increased workload.
"I do think that in very cashand resource-strapped times it is better to do really important cases well and take more of a back seat in others," he said. "We don't need to be involved in every case, nor do lawyers, but we do need to be involved in many cases and lawyers in some.
"There are risks in skirting over the surface in a much larger number of cases but equally there are always risks for any of us not giving any cases the level of attention they deserve."
Douglas also stressed the importance of retaining Cafcass once the family justice review had concluded. He said the organisation carries out an important "public defender" role, ensuring checks and balances are applied to the court process.
The review, announced by the government in the coalition agreement, is in large part an attempt to respond to the increased pressure on the family court system as a result of a rise in the number of care applications.
John Coughlan, director of children's services at Hampshire and a member of the review panel, said it was an opportunity for an overhaul of the existing system.
"What we need to think about is a different system altogether," he said. "We think we have a mandate to be blue-sky about what we do."
Coughlan urged children's services professionals to play a full part in the review in order to help shape the future of family justice. "There is a serious opportunity for radical change, if we play our cards right," he said. "Courts and solicitors and barristers will be making representations as it is an industry. We have to be as clear and as strong as they are and think creatively about what we would like to do with the system if we had the opportunity."
The review panel, headed by David Norgrove, is due to report next year.
