I want to complain about cafcass guardian but scared.

[SantaFeSister]

I'm at my wits end with this person.
We have had extreme findings of domestic abuse made in our case.
The cafcass guardian has been completely biased towards my violent ex.. she's recommended a fast track to unsupervised contact because she thinks I will frustrate contact.

Things I want to complain about are:

Her conduct towards me, rude, unprofessional, has made statements in her report that she is not qualified to make

In her report she said my daughter is likely to be a trigger to me as she looks like her father. (Not true, she looks predominantly like me)

I have signed the c2 form where no personal details are shared, she shared my employment and contact details with ex solicitors which made its way to him.

She has completely stereotyped me as an anxious, mental woman who is capable of parental alienation despite the fact I've brought DD to every contact session and never missed a session.

She's gaslight me and made up things about me, fabricated conversations we've had which never took place.

So far, the Court have listened to her.. we have a very final hearing towards the middle of the year and I'm terrified she's going to suggest shared care..

I want to complain to cafcass about her but I'm worried about the impact of that on her final recommendations.. she is a horrible, horrible woman who has represented my ex not our daughter.

Do I complain during proceedings where it could potentially impact her recommendations or wait until proceedings are over??

Is there no way to complain before and maybe have the whole situation reassessed? Sorry, I’ve absolutely no idea how it works, I just wanted to bump so someone who knows might see this. Maybe post in relationships too as there are lots of really knowledgeable posters over there. It’s sounds like an awful situation to be going through, I hope all works out and the ordeal will soon be over

Same - no advice just good luck. Hope you get the outcome you and your DD need to stay safe xxx

If you have proof of the breach of confidentiality that's the issue on which you should focus, along with her lack of qualification to make whatever statement it is that you're aware she is unqualified to make. The other matters you've listed are subjective unless you have witnesses to the conversations and the difference in the written report. I think you should make any complaint you intend to make prior to the hearing.

The cafcass worker should have a manager and you should file an official complaint. If you don't make it official then it can't be considered.
Keep it focused on factual inaccuracies rather than "she doesn't like me".
So

• she shared details she should not have
• she put details of a conversation on xx date where I said yy. However this conversation did not take place, here is evidence of me being elsewhere or phone log to show no conversation on that day etc

You absolutely need to do this ASAP. I found this advice online.

"Reports can be challenged by making a complaint to Cafcass, preparing a statement which deals with he concerns raised in a report or by challenging the Cafcass or social services officer in court by questioning them and cross examining them in relation to the content of the report that has been prepared."

I'm just worried about the impact on her final recommendations..it quite clear she's biased towards the father..she makes excuse after excuse for him.

OP if you keep it factual then you have grounds to complain and there's a good chance that you then can argue report needs to be redone with a new person

Well if she is biased she will certainly be angry but you believe she is already hostile so notifying her supervisor is your only protection.

Just the passing of information which could put you at serious risk is reason enough. I would make an official complaint. Doesn’t sound like they could be more problematic than they already are.

Do you have a solicitor? What is their advice? You could also ring women’s aid and ask if they can reccomend anywhere to get support.

I would try to insist ok a new person entirely.

We're approaching the end of proceedings so I doubt a new cafcass guardian would be appointed but I'm worried about a final report recommendations..in her last report she suggested the father had a basis for a transfer of residence if I made contact arrangements difficult... someone who has stuck to the court order explicitly and not missed a single contact....

OP, you've asked for advice and we are all saying complain.formally.
If you are worried about the final report and she has misrepresented you or been unfactual then you.have grounds for complaint

I know who the Guardians manager is so I will call the complaints telephone number directly tomorrow and ask for them.

I've just posted in another thread about this but I really sympathise with you. The family court system is a disgrace and for some reason seem to 'side' with abusive fathers. I had to give up my fight, but I hope you get a good outcome for your child.

What outcome did you get?

" she suggested the father had a basis for a transfer of residence if I made contact arrangements difficult... "

Is that not a standard statement that would apply to anyone if they made contact arrangements difficult?

I would not complain by phone.

You need a written factual account.

Hi there, I’ve just read this post. I had exactly the same issues with our CG. She was so biased with my ex husband, even one of the judges picked up on it last year. I DID file a 7 page complaint against her in February and now I severely regret it. They are useless. The findings of the complaint was simply….’‘we’ve asked the CG and she said she did do blah, blah, blah…we’ve spoken to the CG and she says she didn’t say that, we’ve asked her manager and he says that you need to raise it with the judge at the next hearing’ ‘weve looked into this and can’t find anything that suggests that’…. Their whole complaints process is so water tight, it covers their backsides from every angle. I then asked for a different CG to be employed as I felt my complaint would go against me and if needed to be fair. Cafcass refused. Even my parents and my brother (who always stays out of things and never gets involved) made complaints about the handling of the case.
I had zero contact with our CG for 13 months, despite me writing numerous emails requesting her help and assistance. Even after the complaint concluded in March, (6 weeks after I filed the complaint) she was STILL the CG! How can anyone who had a string of complaints made against them remain impartial and not want to seek revenge! From that moment on, her reports stated I was ‘irrational, a liar, emotionally dysregulated, she assumed this and assumed that. She stated in one report she thought I might be suffering with a mental breakdown or a psychotic phase!!
She took my ex’s side, despite him testing positive for cocaine. Even my ex’s barrister and the cafcass barrister then built up the final hearing case against me! They concluded and I was totally outnumbered. I was sent to the lions in the court room.
my barrister said he has never seen such draconian recommendations and it’s more a punishment towards me, than putting the children’s needs first.
The children are now with their Dad. I haven’t spoken to them since January 20th this year and have only been allowed to send video messages to them once a fortnight. The school report my son is becoming a handful as he’s suffering with the separation. My Daughter tells her teachers she misses her Mum and can’t understand why Daddy won’t let them speak to me. He blames it on the judge. The situation is horrendous.
ive tried to show the courts I’m nothing like I’ve been portrayed. I was in a coercive controlling marriage, their dad used to physically attack me, emotionally and mentally abuse me which sent me into serious depression. That’s now being used against me, even after 6 months of therapy and numerous reports from the doctors, my therapist and my new partner, who is a Doctor/surgeon himself and me working in medicine too. Everyone who knows me and spends time with me ALL saying there is nothing wrong with me, the children need their Mum and their Mum needs them, she still thinks I’m dangerous and might brainwash the children. 😢
the case finally closed last week after 4 years. It’s been draining. I’ve now got to do another 6 months of therapy, which my therapist can’t understand as I don’t need it anymore! The courts have given my ex husband the controller,control. (The judge even used the words, my money is backing the dad in this hearing, and ‘every woman suffers with the menopause these days and blames their emotions of something or another it seems’)!!!! 😲
the judge was influenced 100% by the CG.
the CG I found out 2 weeks prior to the final hearing had left cafcass back in March and was only employed on a contract basis. She was also advertising as a psychotherapist, which she didn’t declare throughout the proceedings, so it was a blatant conflict of interest.
She hasn’t had any follow ups with my children since April, she has never met me with my children in 3 years, only them with their father, so gave him a glowing report and when questioned in court around why she hadn’t done the same thing with me, she said, ‘I feel I’ve got to know the mother well enough through her emails and communications she sends me’!! I said, what the emails you never respond too, which winds me up ever more & makes me cross. Those emails you mean. 😤
honestly, my advise to anyone in this situation is 1) avoid court proceedings at all measures if you can. 2) keep logs, notes, records of every comms with your ex and cafcass. Egress only keep emails for 30 days, so make sure you print off the comms you receive, as it’s hard to get them back. 3) don’t bother complaining, it’s a whole waste of time, it goes completely against you and you’ll end up suffering the consequences.
Ive now written a letter to my local MP and I’m going to write to the justice secretary as Cafcass are not worth the paper they are written on. The children’s act is outdated, the staff moral at cafcass is so low, making everyone leave and them having to deal with contract staff only. They are being targeted to get cases closed asap to accommodate their staffing issues and court backlogs & consequently big decisions are being made in haste so another case can be closed. This is at the detriment of the children and the parents who are brought into cafcass proceedings, parents, who probably never envisaged this type of thing happening and parents who are at each others throats due to all the mudslinging, the lengthy court proceedings etc and who are now then catapulted back into society to just be left to get on with it.
i can guarantee within the next 6-12 months, I will be filing a C100 back to court as my ex husband can’t communicate, he just sees this as a victory roll against me, and I have two young children who’s lives are left in utter chaos, all because of an absolutely horrendous & bias child guardian, who hates my guts, as I filed a complaint to highlight major flaws and failings and to raise how utterly useless she was at her job!

This is horrendous.
Did the judge reverse residence to the father at the final hearing?
The court literally don't care.

Former solicitor here.

The best thing you can do is take legal advice before you complain and don't complain by phone.

Don't complain about her views as that is just subjective and will be decided by the court.

There are grounds to complain if you filed forms saying your address and employer etc was confidential and not to be disclosed. However, what evidence do you have that it was the cafcass officer who disclosed the info? Normally it is underpaid busy court staff who do this . Only complain about the breach of confidentiality to the cafcass complaints team if the cafcass officer has admitted this in an interim report or if you have evidence - such as your ex's lawyer saying they got the information from cafcass in a letter to you.

If you can't afford a solicitor think about using a direct access barrister for the final hearing

They closed the case, which the CG wanted back in May at the DRH, but to fair to the judge he said he wouldn’t make any lives with orders at a one hour hearing, following the 3 day FFH in February. The CG didn’t show up in May anyway. In fact she has only shown up once in 6 hearings! Every time her barrister used to issue a C2 application the morning of the hearing excusing her. We’ve had ‘Covid’, a last minute bereavement twice, an illness twice, a cancelled flight back from Africa and I can’t remember the other excuse!! Basically, it’s outrageous.
The children remain with their Dad at the moment and I’ve got to jump through some more hoops for the next 3 months. The problem is, as the courts are so jammed packed, cases are taking so long to get concluded. This has given my ex husband an advantage as the children have had time to ‘settle’ with him according to the Child Guardian. Of course they have!! They haven’t had to go back and forth all the time, which was why I put the C100 application in 3 years ago as it was so unsettling for them. In the 3 years this whole case has been dragging on I’ve somehow gone from having 70% contact to zero!!!! And why would my ex husband want shared care anymore as he used to having £1600 a month maintenance from me! 😡
the whole process has been untenable. It’s cost thousands in legal fees. I’ve spent £30k and half way through I had to start self representing as I couldn’t afford it. I hired a direct access barrister for the judgement hearing who did a bloomin good job with the submission statement, but it was too late and too far down the line. My ex husbands family are wealthy and have paid over £150k for his legal fees. His solicitor/barrister was the one responsible for compiling the court bundle, as I was self representing so of course half of my evidence grew legs & walked off, or was omitted. I raised this with the judge several times and he basically didn’t care & blamed it all on me for not checking it thoroughly before the hearing. All 1065 pages of it, sent me electronically 2 days before.
Honestly, I would give up finding any hope in complaining, the courts don’t give a damn, your just another case number to them and they want you in and out, case closed asap. Often it’s the court process that creates more acrimony between already fighting parents, they whip everything up, delay procedures for ‘this and that’ and then by the time you eventually have your final hearing, 3.5 years have passed, the children have been subjected to being a part in a circus and any little bit of coparenting you once had goes completely out the window. They then close the case and tell you both to get on with it, as your the parents!
so I’m now stuck, right back where I was 7 years ago having to negotiate every time with a man I divorced for coercive controllling behaviour who took my mental health to the gallows and back. Genius, thanks Cafcass and Judge!
you hear of these cases all the time. We’re all complaining about similar things we’ve encountered with rubbish CG’s ourselves, so it’s a common problem.
i feel like starting a petition to take to the government, as they employ cafcass, its government funded, so they need to do something about the appalling service. Otherwise in 30 years time, we will end up with a society of parents who’s childhoods were ruined due to a draconian and antiquated family law legal system, who are so messed up and psychologically effected by the trauma from their childhoods being court case subjects, they won’t know how to parent, which in turn will create another monster to deal with in society.

But how did the kids end up in his care?

Because my ex partner was not a safe or good person to be around. (DV & SO) so I asked my ex husband to have them until I moved, got a non molestation order against him and ensured he wasn’t a threat. Big mistake as now my ex husband wont let them come back. 😢
I’ve moved, I have an injunction against my ex partner, bu he has left me in £8,000 of debt, so that’s another reason why the CG said they should stay put. Totally ridiculous, but that is it!!
ive done everything to ensure they are safe, well looked after and not at all in any harms way.
i bought my cottage in August, the house is a lovely, cosy home, I’ve had therapy to get over the traumas of my marriage and my ex partner, but as the court case has taken 3.5 years to conclude, the children in the view of the CG are now settled at their dads, so they should stay put. Now the courts have closed the case, and it’s upto myself and their Dad to sort things out moving forward, I’ve got a battle on my hands. He’s the problem as he’s controlling, so will do anything to still control me.
the children, the school and friends of mine who’s children are friends of my children all say my two are becoming affected and want their Mum, but basically the courts had to close the case as it was going on and on and they felt the children were settled dmv safe, with their Dad, so that’s the order they made.
it’s horrendous. You do the right thing by getting your children out of harms way, and then when things are all sorted, you then have to fight to get them back.

I don't trust one of the guardians whqt work for cafcass as he only meant me and my son once to judge me never meant my familys and judge them maybe u needd to keep hold of these complaints ajd sort your office out i am a brilliant mum to my son and never been giving no chance to show this i liked the old guardian anda she was lovely and she helped in always possible wish it would have been her t. Be my son guatdain again she anit against me like this one is now