Left in limbo," is how Myra O'Farrell describes the lives of the vulnerable children caught up in the family court system. She works for Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) and says: "Cases can drag on for months. Children don't even know where they are going to live. You can imagine the effect that has on their education and wellbeing."
In many cases, children are forced to wait a year or more for care proceedings to end. Contact hearings in divorce cases fare no better, with child welfare reports alone taking four months to complete. Often social workers and Cafcass staff are left playing catch up, with core assessments of children's needs not carried out in a shocking eight out of 10 court applications.
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