Good News from CAFCASS

Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, has surveyed more than 200 Guardians. The Guardians, whose work involves scrutinising social work decisions in care proceedings, commented on nearly 250 care applications made in November 2011, involving more than 400 children.

The key findings are:

• In two thirds of cases Guardians felt that the care application was timed appropriately
• In more than 85% of cases, Guardians believed that there was no alternative to court proceedings.
• Nearly 20% of the children had not been previously involved with children’s services at the time of the application, almost double the proportion found in a similar study carried out in 2009. This difference may indicate that local authorities are now taking action earlier.  
• There was a greater prevalence of neglect than in the 2009 study, suggesting that concerns of neglect were being acted upon more quickly.

This survey is generally good news suggesting that the increase in the number of care proceedings in recent years is appropriate and justified.

http://www.cafcass.gov.uk/news/2012/cafcass_care_study_2012.aspx

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/baby-p/9288931/Baby-P-panic-helped-save-thousands-of-children-figures-show-but-care-lottery-continues.html