Cafcass DAPP course

Hi

You should only be doing a DAPP as a result of a court ordered requirement. CAFCASS will only refer once a court has ordered it and therefore there is no cost. Eg the court have determined that you need to do the course in order to progress child contact. See link below.

Do you have access to the children? What's the current situation?

https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/parents-and-carers/domestic-abuse/domestic-abuse-perpetrator-programme/

@Daddyup

Yeah the courts ordered for me to do the course, but Cafcass have said "there's a massive backlog, but were happy for Nick Puna to do a self referral and pay for it"

I have had no contact with my son for over two years, My ex delayed the case several times not turning up to court and making false allegations. Plus the pandemic didn't help. 

In the beginning my son told Cafcass, I want to see my dad, he was 8 at the time. But after 18 months of time wasting by my ex and the courts he doesn't want to see me. Eventually the courts decided on Cafcass recommendation, that I attended a DAPP course but Cafcass said there's no places available at the moment due to a backlog, so they made a suggestion that I may find a DAPP course accredited provider and pay for it myself. The Court's agreed with Cafcass and gave me 12 months to complete. I'm not getting anywhere as the providers only deal through Cafcass and they refuse to do the course privately. Cafcass are taking this [censored] out of me and don't care about my son's well being 

@nickpuna I am very sorry to read your experience! I feel sick when I read that you were not able to have any contact with your son for over two years! Where is justice in this country? Your BBC often claim that human rights were abused in other countries.

@bcbcbbcc

Thanks Mate, there is no justice in this country. The courts, lawyers and Cafcass are just making money from other peoples misery. My ex was having an affair, soon after deciding to phone the police on false allegations against. I left with no home a few clothes and living homeless for over a year. I'm still just living in rooms trying to make a living. My ex got her divorce I agreed to it. Thinking she will negotiate on the family home, as soon as she got her divorce she started saying "you can see your son if you sign the house over to me" I told her "I'll walk away with nothing, just give my share to my son" which was about £30,000. That's when it went all out war. Now I'm going to instruct my solicitor to pursue her financially. I can deal with everything being homeless no job no money. But being without my little boy for the last two years has broken my heart especially for my son he didn't deserve this. But I'm not going to give in for his sake

Hi

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to this one. Have you asked CAFCASS for a list of National providers that you can then contact? Whilst there may not be one in your town you poss may find a private provider nearby..

Have CAFCASS offered and alternative solutions if you have made them aware of what providers are saying and the delays re Covid?

Covid delays have resulted in many fathers not being able to see children and this is beyond CAFCASS and the courts really. 

@Daddyup

So I have told Cafcass of the situation, there was one provider willing to take me on. I asked the provider if they were fully accredited, he said "were accredited level one but are in the process of getting fully accredited to level two" so asked Cafcass if that was OK as I'm having issues of the fully accredited providers are fully booked.

She told me that the courts might not accept it. Anyway so I tried again enquiring further a field outside of London. Same thing again fully booked. There's only two fully accredited providers in the whole of London the third one is in the process of getting fully accredited. Surely if Cafcass would make the recommendation of the partly accredited providers is fine, then the courts would agree.

Hi

I think the person you spoke to is hiding behind the courts. It's CAFCASS who make the recommendation to the courts.

What I'd do is get the provider to send me all the details via email (course type, modules covered, accreditation, start and end dates, location etc) and email this to CAFCASS requesting approval. Its crucial that the provider will do an interim report and a final report on you and engage with CAFCASS. Without this no point doing the course as the final report is what's used at court.

Should this not work then I'm afraid you will have to wait it out. Do you have any interim contact? Even supported via a third party, or video calls or contact centre? 

Hope this helps. 

@Daddyup

No contact at all no phone nothing ex won't allow it. So anyway spoke Dapp course provider in Coventry, they said they can take me on. So I contacted Cafcass case worker

Telling them they will take me on and I'm prepared to go to Coventry as I'm from there plus it's near Banbury. I can get a bus job there. Cafcass worker said "you need to speak to the courts legal advisor" so I wrote to the courts legal advisor. Its Cafcass messing me about 

Sorry to hear re no contact but generally the norm esp if ex has a solicitor.

What's the reason CAFCASS gave for having to speak to the court as its unusual? Again I think hiding behind court.

However, hopefully you get a positive response and can get on with doing the course. 

@Daddyup

Ex doesn't have any solicitor, it's  just Cafcass hiding. I have wrote to the courts we'll see what happens. 

Just a quick question, cafcass has sent me an email of closing the case. Who can I complain to as they are just messing me about. I think they have a massive backlog