1. The
majority of CAFCASS Officers are ex Probation Officers
used to dealing with hardened criminals.
2. Only
1 in 7 CAFCASS Officers has received any training.
3. They
have NO formal qualifications.
4. Shockingly,
the training consists of just one 2 day course – less
than a Parking Warden. There is NO official training budget
whatsoever.
5. CAFCASS
has NO defined guidelines and NO complaints procedure.
6. CAFCASS
keep NO records and do not research into the outcomes of
the cases they have been involved in (eg figures on children's
suicide and teenage pregnancy five years after CAFCASS
involvement). This means they have NO way of knowing whether
they are achieving the best outcomes for children and their
parents.
7. To
further compound problems, massive numbers of CWOs are
leaving because of these problems. CAFCASS faces a major
recruitment crisis.
8. According
to Dr Buchanan, Head of the Family Division Research Team
at Oxford University, CAFCASS handles around 35,000 cases
each year affecting an estimated 80 – 100,000 children
per annum.
9. This
equates to over a million children in the past decade alone.
10. According
to Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President of the Family
Division, 40% of fathers lose contact with their children
after 2 years. We believe this results from the actions
of the Family Courts.
11.
Anthony Hewson, the Chairman of CAFCASS, and Ipswich Team
Manager Judith Hubert, are now trying to put a gloss on
CAFCASS. They ‘may’ introduce new national
standards and complaints procedures in 2003. Many critics
believe that not only will this be too little too late
for many families. It still does not address the CAFCASS
staff's complete lack of appropriate
training for dealing with sensitive family matters. |
