New guidance for attending family courts published by CAFCASS
CAFCASS (The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) have issued new guidance for CAFCASS staff attending courts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England.
Cafcass closed all its offices on 20 March 2020 and since this date all their work has been conducted remotely. This has included filing reports, attending remote hearings and progressing cases accordingly.
As the situation with family courts in the UK evolves, there is the potential for hybrid courts: involving those attending in person and those attending remotely. This would likely involve the parties together with their advocates attending in person while other professionals (including CAFCASS, professional witnesses) attending remotely.
This type of hybrid hearing is likely to be in operation for the foreseeable future.
A recovery group (chaired by Cafcass Chief Executive, Jacky Tiotto, with representatives from across family justice) is considering how the family court can move towards operating a less restrictive regime to expand the capacity of the courts to hold hearings while ensuring participants are kept safe.
You can download the PDF document here: CAFCASS Protocol for Attending Family Court