Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee

HWLG(3)-10-09 Paper 4

Committee Inquiry into CAFFCASS Cymru – Written evidence from CAFCASS Service Users

The following views and opinions are sourced from individuals who have experienced first hand the workings of CAFCASS Cymru.

These individuals are keen for their views to be heard at government level to ensure changes to CAFCASS practice occur to improve the outcomes for children and their families across Wales.

The following responses will use the Committee Inquiry Terms of Reference as a guide.

The effectiveness of CAFCASS Cymru in conducting assessments and analysis to facilitate decision making in the best interests of the child:

Response-

Consideration needs to be given regarding closer working relationships between health and social care professionals when conducting assessments. i.e. It is apparent that cost is a factor in the Family Court when it comes to considering the need for an opinion from child psychologists and/or child psychiatrists. CAFCASS social care staff appear to be working in isolation when making decisions and do not appear to have the skills or expertise to make sound professional judgements when assessing children’s emotional health and development. Therefore the specialist knowledge of certain health professionals, such as child psychologists and psychiatrists, is an essential requirement if an accurate and meaningful assessment, to facilitate decision making is to be fully completed. Ideally these health professionals should be full members of the CAFCASS Cymru team and not just specialists called upon ad hoc. This approach will ensure there is a broad cultural and attitudinal change when dealing with these sensitive and complex child cases, particularly where manipulation and alienation may be present.

This new approach to intervention and assessment needs to be supported by a more pragmatic and proactive approach by the Family Court when it comes to assessing the ongoing plan for contact arrangments particularly where it is indicated that contact arrangements between children and an alienated parent may break down over the course of time, as a consequence of non compliance with a court order by an adversarial or manipulative parent.

The integration of CAFCASS Cymru into the safeguarding children framework in Wales

Response-

CAFCASS Cymru needs to be integrated into the safeguarding children framework in Wales as its working practices will then be more closely aligned with evidenced based practice such as the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the Framework for the Assessment of Children in need and their Families (FFA) along with the Welsh Assembly Governments 7 core aims for children and young people. This evidenced based approach using recognised models of assessment will provide a stronger voice for children’s views and opinions and provide more clarity when assessments and important decisions are being made about children’s future contact and residence arrangements with their parents and carers.

The extent to which the Welsh Assembly Government’s approach to children’s rights is reflected in the way CAFCASS Cymru delivers and develops its services

Response-

Based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) CAFCASS Cymru can be seen to be failing in its duty to protect children’s rights i.e. Manipulation and alienation of children from an adversarial parent could lead to Article 9 of the UNCRC being breached as it states the following:

‘You should not be separated from your parents unless it is for your own good – for example, if a parent is mistreating or neglecting you. If your parents have separated, you have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this might harm you.’

There are examples given by the respondent where an adversarial and manipulative parent has made statements about the other parent’s lack of suitability to parent their children; claims which have not been substantiated but have still been subsequently documented in a CAFCASS report ,thereby influencing the outcome of an assessment and decision making in the Family Court. This situation has been exacerbated with children being manipulated by the adversarial parent to present an inaccurate position where one parent is treated as a risk to the children. This is a situation which illustrates the need for CAFCASS services being developed with the need for more expert involvement from relevant health professionals who have expertise in the manipulation and alienation of children and the implementation of recognised assessment tools.

Furthermore, Article 18 of the UNCRC states that:

‘Both parents share responsibility for bringing up their children, and should always consider what is best for each child. Governments should help parents by providing services to support them, especially if both parents work.

Manipulation and alienation should also be considered if there is no evidence to support accusations that a parent is unsuitable to have parental responsibility. Failure to recognise such manipulation and alienation will not lead to the best outcomes for children in these environments as they may lose contact with one of their parents.

The effectiveness of CAFCASS Cymru in addressing the needs of diverse groups

Response-

Equality and fairness when interviewing children as part of the CAFCASS assessment proves needs to be fully implemented in practice. There are examples provided by the respondent where parents are not treated equitably i.e. children are interviewed with one parent being present but the other parent is not given the same opportunity to be interviewed with their children on their own.

The effectiveness of performance management tools used to assess the performance of CAFCASS Cymru service areas, including compliance with national standards

Response-

Nationally recognised performance tools should be implemented to evidence practice and performance of CAFCASS across Wales. This should include any inconsistency in the quality of assessment, case planning, recording and court reporting. As a consequence CAFCASS Cymru needs to make its working practices clearer and more accountable to government, the courts and the public. This should include regular and ad hoc audits and inspections of staff practice and performance. In addition, staff recruitment, training and development needs to be given more consideration including recruitment of highly skilled health professionals with a background in child health and child welfare, including safeguarding children and regular staff training on subjects such as child development, child health, child protection and domestic abuse. Outcomes of audits should be clearly shown to have impacted proactively on practice and performance to improve working practices and provide better outcomes for children and their families who have contact with CAFCASS.  

Strategic direction and leadership in delivery of the CAFCASS Cymru Strategy

Response-

There should be clear governance including clear lines of responsibility and accountability in developing CAFCASS Cymru as a child focussed service.

As stated in CAFCASS Cymru’s Strategic Plan (2008-2011):

http://wales.gov.uk/dhss/publications/cafcass/strategicplan/strategicplane.pdf?lang=en ;

’The aim is to ensure that CAFCASS CYMRU continues as a learning organisation, committed to continuous improvement.’

Therefore CAFCASS Cymru should be prepared to acknowledge any failings in their systems and thereby seek to continually improve their standards including the service they provide and assessments implemented.

Also, point 2.4 on page 4 of this CAFCASS Cymru strategy states that;

’Some children live in difficult or harmful family situations which can affect their development and welfare. Court proceedings involving such children can often be a complex and a traumatic event. CAFCASS CYMRU is committed to providing a voice for children and young people in such a situation. It advises Courts upon the best course of action, to ensure that the child’s needs and best interests are addressed. It is the welfare of children that is at the heart of every decision made and every action taken by CAFCASS CYMRU.’

In practice as well as acknowledging the voices of children, CAFCASS should also take into account the holistic picture of parental capacity and any environmental issues as suggested by the Framework for Assessment (FFA) and not just the children’s views and opinions, as these views can sometimes be influenced by a parent skilled in manipulation. This can effect the child’s development and welfare and ultimately damage the child’s relationship with the isolated parent. In addition CAFCASS Cymru staff should always clearly indicate in their records whether they have taken into account other opinions and recommendations made by any former CAFCASS staff who may have previously been involved with the same children and families. This should be particularly addressed in more challenging and complex cases where a parent/parents are more adversarial, manipulative and controlling.

The allocation of resources to CAFCASS in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government, which supports the delivery of its statutory responsibilities and reflects national and local priorities

Response-

Resources should take into account workforce development including a fresh approach to recruitment, development and retention of staff. As previously mentioned recruitment should also address the need for a multi skilled workforce with staff from health as well as social welfare backgrounds. As a consequence remuneration of staff would have to be considered with pay and conditions and pension schemes being attractive to all individuals seeking employment in CAFCASS Cymru.This is to ensure that the best applicants are attracted to work in a dynamic, forward thinking organisation.

The availability of child contact centres for children and their families in Wales

Response-

If this model of child contact centres is the one defined on the National Association of Child Contact Centres then it is an approach which needs to be adopted in Wales: http://www.naccc.org.uk/cms2/index.php  

This will give both parents, and particularly an alienated and/or isolated parent, the opportunity to have contact with their children. But the needs of older, teenage children should also be considered as the child contact centres appear to be more appropriate for younger children.