Cafcass and family law proceedings

[Gemmalc]

Hi there, I am looking for some urgent advice, I have a seven year old darling daughter from a previous abusive relationship, me and her father broke up when she was one, he did not see her nor contact her for two years after that until he took legal action to get access to his daughter, we had a finding of fact hearing which found him guilty of lots of abuse towards me with DD present, including holding a knife to my chest and keeping us locked in the house and strangling me on more than one occasion causing me to pass out. He underwent a phychological assessment who said contact should be supervised as its concerning as all the dvidence shows what he did however he continues to deny this, police records and medical history also indicate he used to self harm and take overdoses after DD was born, a long battle commenced as he was granted supevised contact at a sunday, after 12 months this changed to unsupervised, this is when problems began and it seems he has been abusing DD both mentally aswell as hitting her on two occasions, this has resulted in DD Refusing contact all together, cafcass has reported to the court what has happened to my daughter and the fact she is so opposed to contact due to her fear of him, however still proposes contsct is reinstated as she says it is too premature to stop contact, my daughter is very upset and still refuses to go, I am going to court tomorrow to state I am not in agreement to this as DD is scared and father denies all abuse, I cannot get legal aid and am self representing, can anyone offer any advice, what happens if and when contact is ordered and DD refuses to go? please help.

I'm afraid that your daughter's views are not decisive because of her age. As CAFCASS are advising reinstatement of contact there is a good chance that this will be the court's decision. You may be able to persuade the court to limit it to supervised contact but it is likely that the long term goal will be reinstatement of unsupervised contact.

If contact is ordered you are required to make your daughter available at the stated times, regardless of her views on the subject. If you fail to do so he can take enforcement action against you. The courts have a range of options they can use to enforce contact including sending you to prison and even taking your daughter away from you and sending her to live with your ex, although I hope they would not do so in this case given his history.

Sorry to sound negative. You are in a terrible situation and you have my sympathy. I think you should argue for no contact or, failing that, supervised contact and hope that you can persuade the court. Make sure you stay calm and present your case clearly. If the court thinks you are being unreasonable it won't help your case. You are not being unreasonable but the impression you make can be important.

OK thanks for the replies family courts can be so unfair, what happens though if i make child availible for contact but child still refuses and protests, wont get out of car etc?

how awful..

did you and dd report to police for assault?

could you ask for proper psychological assessment of your daughter as to wheter is in her best interests to have unsupervised contact?

so push for supervised contact only pending dd's appointments with family therapiist/child psychologist?

CAFCASS isnt child psychologist - maybe indepdendent third party might be listened to re: your dd's mental well being should contact hapen?

I have police reports for violent on myself, but dd only revealed he had been hitting her under duress from cafcass,do you think i should perhaps ask dd to speak to the police about this now?

i dont know, but i think reports to police for assault work best in the moment so to speak...and will be her word against his....

the police reports re: you were 11/12 years ago, right??

however, if this has only just come to light thru CAFCASS then maybe you do need to do something?

i think if she is forced to have unsueprvised contact and comes home crying and says "he hit me" then you should both immediately that very day go to police/call police.

you could call police and ask how to report this, or call NSPCC line for advice on this.

it just sounds nuts - if a child reported a teacher had hit her the whole world would go balloistic - your dd discloses to CAFCASS officer that her dad has hit her and nothing happens???

what did hitting her involve, when, how etc?
did CAFCASS officer ask him about this incident(s)

again - if his word against hers then is horrible...

i would call nspcc helpline to talk it thru - this is child protection issue isnt it?

www.nspcc.org.uk/help-and-advice/enquiries/child-protection-enquiries/child-protection-enquiries-hub_wdh74894.html

Hi I have reports from 2003 onwards, inc medical evidence etc, I also have a finding of facts from court to show all this, The cafcass officer has noted down that he has hit her twice and it upset DD greatly, I have just recieved his position statement denying he has hit her but will say sorry to appease her, it is so wrong and i shall take your advice, many thanks

Does anyone know if it is possible to sue CAFCASS for incompetence leading to distress of children?

i doubt it tsm....whats happened?

you could start your own thread,lots of people on here that can offer advice. cafcass in my case were excellent and got the ex out of our lives.....rare i believe!!

I think you need to call the police to report these assaults on your daughter.

You need to explain very clearly to the Judge that she has disclosed to CAFCASS that she has been hit and there is no way you can force her to return.

If Judge insists on contact then you insist it must be supervised in a secure place where they can obsesrve and report on contact as it happens. Tell your daughter she is perfectly safe - there will be people present that will protect her.

I feel very sorry for you both - what an awful situation

Sorry to hear about your problem OP... Being in the family courts and self representing certainly takes its toll and is unbelievably tough, however you can do it. You are the best person to speak up for your DD, make sure that you refer to the welfare checklist and ensure you highlight that in light of it your DD having unsupervised contact will cause xyz. I am in court myself too over contact and the CAFCASS officer assigned to us was keen for contact but the judge thought otherwise (Thank God). I wish you all the best

I would echo sparklystockings. The enforcement regime on contact orders is very weak, which many parents on the other side are well aware of. In addition, my husband, who was the resident parent in a situation where the NRP was doing harm to his kids - emotional in this case - and who had a child refusing to take part in contact, was advised by his solicitor that making available did not include forcing her to attend, and that the court would be sympathetic to good cause for breaking the court order, should he be taken to court. Is there no way you can get legal advice to reassure you - DH's solicitor wasn't remotely concerned about him being punished.

The other thing that strikes me is that you could push for a court guardian (and solicitor) to be appointed for your daughter. This means that any contact proceedings become a three way process, and Cafcass have to account for their solicitor as well as you and your ex. I'm not sure who'd paid in your case - it may still be covered by legal aid. This is something else I would see if you consult a solicitor about - loads of family solicitors will do an initial free consultation.

Good luck - it's such a horrible and stressful situation.

Just a word of warning here, the guardian is likely to be an officer from CAFCASS and very possibly the officer you have now. Guardian ad litems carry even further weight with the court and it is unlikely any judge would go against his/her viewpoint and recommendations.

The solicitor for the child is appointed by the guardian and is likely to be someone she has worked with previously. This generally means that although the solicitor is supposedly instructed on behalf of the child, the reality (no matter how it is dressed up) is that they are the solicitor for CAFCASS.

That's a good point, Elsie.

Our experience during residency proceedings, and I know it won't be universal, is that CAFCASS were appalling, so I would want as few dealings with them as possible.

Agree strongly that guardian is likely to be same Cafcass officer. Beware, Cafcass' executive director boasts of ' regular meetings' with Rights for Father's organisations. Dialogue with mother's or family groups are never mentioned. Cafcass advise the courts on contact matters. They are not concerned with the child's best interest, only father's rights. I have observed that their offices are dominated by posters depicting men as victims of violence etc. Cafcass also insist that judges go on courses that push this idea.

In my experience, soc. services are much more balanced and their first priority is the child's welfare.

Missisipii you're talking nonsense. Don't know whether you've had cafcass ever do a report you didn't like, but to suggest bias is delusional. Social services only get involved where they might want to consider taking the child off the parents.

And how do you think that cafcass insist that judges go on courses? What magical rights do cafcass have over judges that nobody else does?

"Cafcass are not concerned with the child's best interest, only father's rights". Nonsense.

Utter nonsense!!

CAFCASS ime are generally rubbish. Your local one may be different, but I suggest you look at their OFSTED report to find out for sure so you know what you are up against.
Unfortunately the judge is likely to take what they say as gospel truth. Make sure you ask that the CAFCASS officer be there to question about their report and don't be afraid to pull it apart and point out its short comings when things are wrong.

You will need to do your research into 'every child matters' and the welfare checklist and also into CAFCASS guidelines and procedures and point out where these haven't been followed.

The judge is there to help you when you are representing yourself and will try and help you so do listen to what they are saying/suggesting and follow their lead if it seems they are pointing you a certain way.

Be clear in everything you say that this is about your child's welfare and best interests and that is what you are there to achieve. Don't refer to what you want or think, refer to your child and how it affects them and what she is saying/feeling.

Wow just realised this thread started in November.
OP what outcome did you achieve?

Cafcass varies widely in different areas. Some are excellent, some dreadful. Ditto the people that work within the local office.

Judges do NOT take what they say as gospel. Judges know what cafcass are like in their area, and know which cafcass officers are better than others. They question what they say and will form their own view.

Hi there, quick update, caffcass eventually made a report saying indirect contact only, but the opposing party now want psychological reports doing on my daughter, there is a final contested hearing on Friday, any advice?

Get representation. No one can give you proper advice unless you post copies of the cafcass report and all the statements filed to date.