[Solved] CAFCASS

Hi there,

I think it's a good idea to have the hair strand test done ready for the next court date, the main reason because it will avoid further delay. As far as the alcohol testing is concerned, the court will accept liver function tests as proof of intake and this is done with a simple blood test that your GP can do for you.

Although they say that the system is not biased, the many experiences of Dads here is definitely to the contrary! The mother is often favoured in court proceedings so thE more proof you can provide the better!

If you have not asked for interim contact to be put in place on the application form then I would strongly suggest that you write to the court and ask that this be discussed at the next hearing as you wish it to be put in place.

Should i wait till the hearing date and let my wife make the allagations against me in court then show the test results in court?
Do you think i should send the results to cafcass onlly before the hearing?

or send the results to the court, my wifes solicitor and cafcass before the hearing?

have you been in the same situation?
thank you

As CAFCASS have already made reference to alcohol and cannabis testing I feel that you will be asked to do tests.

If you don't want to let your ex's side know you have had the tests done, and as you haven't been asked to have tests done yet, you can keep them to yourself but have copies in triplicate and take them to court with you to present should the issue arise.

Or if you want to be completely transparent then as soon as you have the results send the original to the court and send copies to CAFCASS and her solicitor, keep a copy for your own records.

My son has been in a very similar situation in as far as he had to have a hair strand test done, his ex did too and she tested positive for cocaine...my sons was clear and he did get custody in the end. There were other issues of neglect involved in his case though.

I have no contact with my wife, so i think i will have the hair stand test for cannabis and the liver function done.

if my wife still denies me contact at court, ( I know her Solicitor will seen the CAFCASS report ) and will use the cannabis and alcohol allagation as one of the reasons for my wife denying contact, and he will be hopeing the court orders tests and I fail the tests. I will deny I use cannabis and show the court the results to prove it and that I am CLEAN

But i may send the COURT and CAFCASS the results before the hearing but not my Wifes Solicitor
is this alllowed by the court ?

Or should i just give the results to CAFCASS alone as thay are the one who advised the court to do the tests and I think they expect me to fail them so if I pass they may trust me more and not just listien to my wifes allagations what do you think?

You see, I do not want to give my Wifes Solicitor my defence plan I want to make him slip up in Court becouse the Solicitor will not expect me to have a cannabis test before the court orders it.

Or should I hold onto the results and only hand them out on the hearing day and will the court except them becouse they did not order them ?

As you can tell I am cofused and do not want to make a mistake, as i am repersenting myself.
thank you

The decision is yours I'm afraid, as I said in my previous post you have two options, but if you decide to send CAFCASS and the court the test results then its court procedure to include the other party too.

As a self rapper you should be allowed a little leeway by the judge but its better that you try and do things in the correct way.

Why don't you telephone CAFCASS and ask them if their safeguarding concerns are to do with the alleged alcohol and cannabis use and if you were to have the tests done prior to the first hearing if that would go a long way to allaying the concerns they have and allow for interim contact to be considered at the hearing.

I don't think you should concern yourself with what your ex's side is doing, just concentrate on your case and how to show the court that you have your child's best interests at heart and present no concerns for the child whilst they are in your care.

I,think the happy medium would be to wait until a week before the hearing and then file the results with the court and send CAFCASS and your ex's solicitor a copy for their files. If their defence is your drug and alcohol use, by providing test results that show you are clear will limit their case anyway.

As NJ says any evidence submissions in regards test results / evidence / statements etc… need to be in with the Court/CAFCASS/your ex’s solicitors at least week before the hearing date.

Like you I’d be wanting to produce them in court on the day but I think it would be seen much better by the court if you submitted it to them all a week before the hearing….i would personally think that it shows to the court that you’ve nothing to hide and that you’re not playing dirty tricks like you ex’s side would do.

When you know that CAFCASS has a their copy of the test results call them up and speak regarding the chance of getting contact resumed based on the negative results and your ex’s obvious lies and attempts to delay/break your contact with your kids….be pleasant and polite and don’t let them get to you….if you’re in the clear then push them to realise that your ex is playing them and trying to prevent contact with your kids.

I have had to have my ex tested recently for Cannabis and was instructed by the court to use Trichotec as they were preffered by the court.

It may be worth asking the court which company they use so that there can be no to and froing from your exs solicitor.

If it help here is a link to Trichotec....based in Cardiff.

http://www.concateno.com/trichotest-form/

Regards,

Dave

Get the liver function test done through your Doctor, if he is cool it will cost you nothing.

I went and explained my whole situation to him and he sent me for bloods! 🙂

I talked to CAFCASS and they told me they are not dealing with it now and i should call the socail worker, i have called them today and they will call me back tomorrow.
but CAFCASS did say if i do my own drug test it may help, but the court may may not order another one, but they said it will not do any harm doing my own and it would show i am doing my best to have contact.
they said the court may not order a section 7 report.

is it good that CAFCASS are not involved?
I thought only CAFCASS do a section 7 report if ordered by the court

I talked to CAFCASS and they told me they are not dealing with it now and i should call the socail worker, i have called them today and they will call me back tomorrow.
but CAFCASS did say if i do my own drug test it may help, but the court may or may not order another one, but they said it will not do any harm doing my own and it would show i am doing my best to have contact.
they said the court may not order a section 7 report.

is it good that CAFCASS are not involved?
I thought only CAFCASS do a section 7 report if ordered by the court

I talked to CAFCASS and they told me they are not dealing with it now and i should call the socail worker, i have called them today and they will call me back tomorrow.
but CAFCASS did say if i do my own drug test it may help, but the court may order another one, but they said it will not do any harm doing my own and it would show i am doing my best to have contact.
they said the court may not order a section 7 report.

is it good that CAFCASS are not involved?
I thought only CAFCASS do a section 7 report if ordered by the court

I talked to CAFCASS and they told me they are not dealing with it now and i should call the socail worker, i have called them today and they will call me back tomorrow.
but CAFCASS did say if i do my own drug test it may help, but the court may or may not order another one, but they said it will not do any harm doing my own and it would show i am doing my best to have contact.
they said the court may not order a section 7 report.

is it good that CAFCASS are not involved?
I thought only CAFCASS do a section 7 report if ordered by the court

CAFCASS are ordered as part of any child court hearing. They specifically state that social services were previously involved in your case. They have referred it back to your local authority social services I guess mainly cause they are too busy but also to consider whether a section 7 is carried out. This is to my knowledge is a fact finding mission going through the evidence to weight up whether the allegations have any truth to them. Clearly preparing for these problems eg with hair and blood test would help your cause. You need to carefully go through all her allegations and have a response for everyone so you can press ahead with improving contact.

Good luck

Its not just because CAFCASS are too busy, but also because SS were previously involved, and have the time to do a more in depth report and continue reporting/checking on the family and basically the safeguarding concerns are pretty serious. Generally in my area if the Court have been informed of SS involvement, they will not involve CAFCASS but get SS to do the report.

It will certainly help if you do drug and alcohol tests. If you produce a copy of the results to the Court prior to the next hearing you should provide SS and the ex solicitors with a copy also. However, saying that, you should have permission to file the reports with the Court, i.e. via a Court Order.

I also would not get the tests done too early, i.e. if your next hearing is September, you want the reports to be as up to date as possible, i.e. August/September.