[Solved] CAFCASS

Hi

Have you read yoji's guide to representing yourself at the top of the legal eagle section? That will give you a lot of advice on what you need to do. After that, if you have any specific questions, if you post them here, we'll ask the CCLC to give advice.

Hi there,

Yes I have read most of the great help here. However, really what I was after were fathers who have already had "real life expereince" of this. Foward warned is forarmed and all that.

Brian

Hi Bri, I dont know anything about the charges the previous poster is quoting. i dont think cafcass meetings cost anything as they are court appointed + charges for their inviolvement are a new one to me! Also, (mediation has been quoted at around £100 and hour for me for what its worth)
Anyway, your question was what to expect from cafcass. I unfortunately did not receive my telephone call for some reason. The reporter said she tried to phone me but could not get through. I had sent a lengthy letter saying all I wanted to say to the Cafcass reprorter prior to the phone interview which made me feel the pressure was off somewhat to remember all I wanted to in the telephone interview and this is something I would recommend. i was not very happy with the initial report from Mum's telephone interview and my statement but it was not all negative, just biased towards Mum, probably because she was the only one she spoke to. cafcass said there was no further role for them as the initial phone interviews are just to acertain if there are any welfare issues that may effect the child.
My second experience with Cafcass was markedly more positive. we progressed from the initial welfare checks and I requested additional involvement from cafcass as my ex was not progressing matters and citing concerns over my home. I had an initial meeting and a home visit, both of which were incredibly positive. From the start the Cafcass reporter (not sure what I should call her?) had seen through the nonsense my ex was spouting and was focussed on resolving matters for my little girl. This was her only concern, she deals with domestic violence and abuse daily and my ex was talking about unfinished plumbing and stair spindles not fitted to regulations. I actually went in prepared to defend my actions, behaviour and moral standards as these had all been brought into question by my ex but within one minute I knew she was not interested in hearing any of that and we discussed the best way forward for me and my ex to overcome our issues and make my daughter happy. i would say, be prepared, write down all you want to say and prioritise this in order of importance as you may not have time to cover it all in the telephone call. Be honest and be child focussed. stay away from "he did this, she did that" and be positive demonstrating what you can do for your child in the future.
its what you can now offer that they will be interested in.

Thank you so much for these pointers and I will get all "my ducks in a row" for when they make the call which is to be made (BY APPOINTMENT) in the next couple of weeks. I will post my experiences on here as soon after the call as I can, whilst it's still fresh in my mind.

Bri101 - Good luck, you could check this article on the main site regarding Cafcass.

Gooner

Hi please let us know how you get on as we are also at this stage, although I think you are a couple of weeks ahead. good luck

Sorry to jump in.
I've just had my 1st chat to CAFCASS, it didn't seem to go well.
I pointed out that I'm concerned that the in-laws in the same house as my son have made racist statements such as "to be British is to be a drunk & racist". Well, that was the wrong thing to say....
Even though I pointed out to her that when we were together I would have maybe 2 pints a week (beer not spirits) and maybe 4-5 week now. Her comments were accusatory "Did she leave you because of your drinking?". "Can't you stop drinking so you can see your son?"

To get this straight, I don't drink every day, or even every week. I don't drink in front of my son. I don't even drink when I'm going to see him for at least for 1 day before as I have to drive so far.

I had prepared the points that I had planned to express to CAFCASS, my solicitor read & agreed that they were all valid. The CAFCASS case worker wasn't interested unless there was any physical threat against my son.

We'll see what happend next week, 1st hearing.

oh dear its so difficult to know what to say, its a very stressful time and I think its might have been best not to say anything negative to cafcass about your concerns at this stage. Im dreading the call as its my son who will be taking it, I wish it could be me instead

what did they ask you ?

She asked:
Whether I'd tried to reconsile with the mother.
What I was asking for in regards to contact arrangements.
What my concerns are with regards to the welfare of my son.

By the welfare, she was only interested in any physical harm that could come from living where he is.

I spoke to my solicitor, she was unhappy with the lack of detail asked for from CAFCASS, but since it hasn't even gone to court yet, they will be investigating a lot more if my ex still won't allow unsupervised contact.

Hi Thanks for the info its useful to know what they ask, as for what my son wants for contact he has already said this on the c100 and im presuming they have a copy

Hi There,

Also see the thread regarding allegations of alcohol. Take the Liver Function Test, you'll pass with flying colours.

Brian

I've completed the C100 too, I'm not sure that they had read it though.
Since in my case it will cost a lot every time in fuel, I can't really afford every 2nd weekend, so I'm request every 3rd. That surprised the CAFCASS lady.
I pointed out that to pick my son up on a Friday & come back to where here was born & drop him off on a Sunday & for me to get home is at least 550 miles.

I've said that I'll take any test that the court wants.
I'm not going to take them in preparation for the 1st appearance as they might believe me & that would save me money.

Yes that would be the right think to do wait to be asked rather than volunteer.

Bri

As I mentioned before, my first interview was with a different person to the second due to the court area being changed. I volunteered a very long statement to the first in which I think I said too much. She seemed to be looking for points out of the statement to raise concerns. An example is that I said that I had decided to drink less over the last year to lose some weight. This was translated in her report that I had admitted to having alcohol difficulties in the past which is nonsense. It's probably best not to volunteer too much info that could potentially be used against you. The less questions that are raised, the less answers have to be answered. Obviously dont be dishonest, just in my experience if I did it again I would let them ask the questions and not complicate matters by raising any issues that need not be addressed. Cafcass are only human, there are good and bad ones and I will say again that the second one I spoke to was fantastic and was only concerned with resuming normaility for my daughter. It is not a test or an attempt to catch you out.
Be relaxed as possible and over everything remain child focussed without dwelling on your relationship with your ex.
Questions to expect could be. "What was your role in the daily childcare before you split" "what awareness do you have of the impact the conflict between you and your ex may have had on your child" "what contact do you want to achieve and how realistic on a practical level is this"
There is lots of info on the cafcass and other websites.

The welfare checlist is central to a lot of the work that they do..

In deciding whether to make a s.8 order the court will have regard to all of the circumstances and in particular the following:
(a) the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (considered in the light of his age and understanding);
(b) his physical, emotional and educational needs;
(c) the likely effect on him of any change in his circumstances;
(d) his age, [censored], background and any characteristics of his which the court considers relevant;
(e) any harm which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
(f) how capable each of his parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs;
(g) the range of powers available to the court under this Act in the proceedings in question.[3]

Good luck.

Hi Matty, thanks for the info. My sons case is different as hes never lived with the mother of his child, they had a brief relationship, she said she was on the pill, we had to wait till the baby was born to do a Dna as she admitted she had two one night stand when drunk. All I can say is she should be grateful it was my sons or her child would never ever have know who her Daddy was.