Cafcass (Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)

Cafcass is independent of the court and children’s services. Its role is to look after the interests of children involved in cases in the family court.

The role of Cafcass is to make sure:

• The child’s wishes and feelings are understood by the court
• All decisions taken by the court are in the child’s best interests.

This includes cases in which children’s services are involved, for example, care proceedings. If children’s services apply for a care order or an emergency protection order, the court will ask Cafcass to appoint a children’s guardian to ensure that whatever decisions the court takes are what is best for the child.

Cafcass also helps with private law cases. For example when parents cannot agree on arrangements for where a child should live, and who they should spend time with.