Yesterday was another diverse day sitting at the Principal Registry where I dealt with five cases which couldn't have been more different but all about contact with children for separated parents.
The most worrying was about a seven year old who "refused" to see dad though there was no objective evidence to show that this was based on anything other than messages received from her mother.
The Court had made a Family Assistance Order to involve Cafcass in reintroducing contact but Cafcass in their wisdom has allocated the case to a (presumably unqualified)"family support worker" who invited the mother to bring the child into her office but when the mother refused effectively abandoned the FAO and wrote to the Court asking for further Dircetions!
Cases like this need a firm grip by a skilled practitioner and this is one of the many areas where children are now totally failed by Cafcass, whilst Anthony Douglas continues his constant spinning of figures and news.
A second involved a child with extensive special needs where the parents were trying to get to grips with providing a consistent routine and diet in both homes but after a three way negotiating process we put together a communication package that has a good chance of working. That however took well over an hour which fortuitously I had available because another case had collapsed but most days at the PRFD it would be rare to find the extended timeslot that case needed.
It is impossible to understate the role that parents' representatives play in these scenarios. Early realistic child-focused advice can make or break the course that the long term arrangements between all family members can take and it has certainly been my experience that membership of Resolution (the old Solicitors' Family Law Association--a much better title!) is a good indicator of such an advisor.
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