CAFCASS – another new dawn?

Anthony Douglas, chief executive of CAFCASS, has launched a consultation paper, Every Day Matters, for rejuvenating the way in which agencies work in the family justice system and emphasising the need for change to benefit children involved in family court applications. He suggested that CAFCASS should be involved in proceedings as early as possible to ensure that every case, and every child referred to it, will have a practitioner allocated to it within two days, and that an early intervention service would be guaranteed in the first six weeks of every case. The President of the Family Division, the chief executive of Her Majesty’s Court Service, and the chairman of the Family Proceedings Committee of the Magistrates’ Association have endorsed the paper as a basis for consultation. The new strategy will be published in March 2006 along with an implementation plan and timetable. Further details are at: www.cafcass.gov.uk