Guardian crisis

The Association of Lawyers for Children has passed a resolution voicing ‘grave concerns’ that the representation of children in family proceedings is being eroded because of serious problems with CAFCASS. In London there are 170 cases of care proceedings where children have no guardian to represent them. Catherine Gieve, chairwoman of the Solicitors Family Law Association children’s panel, attributed part of the blame to under-funding and the fall out of the judicial review prompted by CAFCASS’s attempts to force guardians to become employees. Charles Prest, CAFCASS’s Director of Legal Services, conceded that CAFCASS did not have as much money as it needed.