Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, better known as Cafcass, are independent from the courts, social services etc. and ensure decisions are made in the best interests of the child when family matters go to court.
Cafcass has released new figures for January 2016 which convey a 16% increase in care applications, with figures for last month totalling 1,040 compared to 893 in the same period of 2015.
Local authorities can make care applications if they have concerns about a child including:
- Neglect e.g. not feeding the child, not keeping the child clean, leaving the child on their own
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
After a care application has been made, Cafcass will allocate a Children’s Guardian who will be responsible for appointing a solicitor, advising the court and making sure any decisions made are in the best interests of the child.
To read more about the work of Cafcass and similar statistics please visit the Cafcass website.
