For an agency that’s not well known, Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) wields an awful lot of power. Whenever parents can’t agree over an application for a Contact Order, they become involved, compiling a report on the family, both parents and children. The document they produce carries a great deal of weight with the Family Court.

Both Cafcass and Family Court have undergone their share of controversy, the first for some of the content of their reports and its methodology, the second for operating in relative secrecy. Cafcass presents its report as a completed document at court, and interested parties have no chance to challenge it beforehand, although they are sent copies.

Who Compiles The Cafcass Report?

The Cafcass Staff who compile the reports are known as Children and Family Reporters. It’s their job to interview both parents in the case, as well as the children, and any others who might be needed, which could mean social workers, medical professionals, or even relatives.

The Reporters are social workers themselves, but their qualifications don’t go beyond that (one criticism levelled at them is that they sometimes make observations that go beyond their field of expertise, such as in the medical area).

From the interviews they conduct, the Reporter will determine two things: whether there should be contact allowed, and, if so, how much. It’s a measure of how important the Cafcass recommendation is that the court will almost invariably adhere to it.

The Cafcass Report Process

The building blocks of the Cafcass report are the interviews the reporters carry out. They talk to both parents, generally quite extensively, although not necessarily in a home setting, which can leave people uneasy in an unfamiliar environment.

Since the report takes around 10 weeks to compile, a number of people are interviewed, a wide range, and there are instances when the court will ask the Reporter to talk to a specific person, for instance a health visitor.

The Reporter will inform parents about the people they’ll interview, which will include the police and a check of the Child Protection Register – that’s standard, and shouldn’t alarm anyone.

Of course, they’ll also want to interview any children involved, as long as they’re old enough. Part of the responsibility of the court is to take the wishes of the children into account where possible, although that doesn’t mean that will necessarily happen. It’s vital that the Reporter remains neutral with the child and doesn’t ask him or her to take sides.

Criticism of Cafcass Reports

Although most Cafcass reports are fine, there have been a number of criticisms thrown at Reporters. These can be for inappropriate remarks, or ones that are unqualified. For instance, a report might mention “domestic violence” in a relationship, without explaining what the violence is (it could, in fact, be something as trivial as sulking). There have been occasions when the Reporter has included nothing in the report about the wishes of the child, even when the child is old enough to expresses preferences and opinions. At times reports haven’t included pertinent information about the children, such as learning difficulties.

In other words, the reports aren’t perfect, and where a person finds failing in the report, there are grounds to ask for it to be disregarded – that can be entirely or just in part – or to be discredited. There have been occasions when the court has made it decision based on a bad report. When that’s happened, the bad report constitutes grounds for appeal.

Not all experiences of Cafcass are negative, many are positive and help numbers of fathers gain access to their child. Have a look at our reader story My Positive Experience of Cafcass.