CAFCASS: Service Principles and Standards

Join the Lobby

As a lobby, we engage in political activities, but we are not linked to any particular political parties or political viewpoints.

The Details: About the Lobby

To join the lobby, just add your name to the mailing list.

Mailing List

CAFCASS Service Principles and Standards: March 2003

If the courts ordered CAFCASS to prepare a report on your child and family, then they are supposed to follow the guidelines outlined in this document.

Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: The Principles
Section 3: The Service Standards

If the CAFCASS officer does not submit his/her report until the deadline, which may be near the date of the final hearing, then you have two options:

Request an adjournment to allow time to obtain the data (this can postpone the Hearing several months) or;
Do not obtain the data, accept the scheduled Hearing date, and hope the CAFCASS officer does a fair job.

It is interesting to note Sections 1.5 and 1.6 which read:

1.5 CAFCASS practice must comply with relevant family law legislation, Court Rules and case law principles involved.
1.6 In addition to family law, CAFCASS is also subject to other legislation and statutory instruments which inform its work, including the Human Rights Act 1998 and legislation relating to equality, anti-discrimination and health and safety.

As you can see, CAFCASS practice "must comply" with relevant "caselaw principles". (Caselaw principles are laws based on judicial decision and precedent rather than on statutes.)

There are numerous existing and current case law principles that support shared residence applications, including when: the parents live in different countries, or when the mother behaves badly.

However, the reality is that CAFCASS officers do not often support shared residence applications, especially when the mother behaves badly in her attempt to support her view that a shared residence order should not be made. (She will do this because she can obtain more child support from the father if he has his children less often.)

If CAFCASS does not support your application for shared residence then it is very unlikely that a judge will make an order for shared residence.