CAFCASS Report Received Today

Evening All,

Today we received the CAFCASS report re my partners 9 year old son. Although it was he being interviewed, it was basically a reflection of everything his mum feels and wants.

There were fibs in there (how do you/could you get a child to do that??), a lot of negativity and an avalanche of 'me' bashing.

All the stuff about me I am not concerned about as I know it's not entirely his view, but what I do find worrying is the fact he says he doesn't want to see his dad regularly.

The report was done after he'd not seen his dad for nine weeks and meanwhile he'd been plied with treats and trips and brainwashing.

Does the court usually go with the CAFCASS recommendation if a child says he only wants to see his dad once a month for instance?

Thanks in advance.

Hi, I wanted to try and comment, can i ask if you could say what the recommendations are - obviousely in very general terms without too much detail.

Hello Zonked,

There were no actual recommendations in the report, it basically said what the child wanted in terms of contact and what had come from their discussion.

This must be an awful time for you both and I'm really sorry the report was not as positive as was hoped.

I think what needs to be done is to work on a position statement setting out your response and what you want from the court.

Personally, I have no difficulty accepting the child is a victim of his mother's psychological abuse. Regardless of the outcome at court I think your partner can at least be proud that he was not complicit in that but instead fought to protect his interests.

That said, the court battle is not over. You have a report which makes no recommendations but simply says the child does not want contact. Given the circumstances this is unsurprising.

However the courts would want to see contact progress and will be reluctant to accept no contact. The benefits to the child should contact be established need to be emphasised, as would the damage done to him if it wasn’t. Given the evident hostility between the parents it is understandable that the child would feel polarised.

I'd guess asking for a court guardian to be appointed to assess the child's real feelings together with seeking to maintain some direct contact would be reasonable steps. That said, it is just a guess.

I think that it has become essential to take advice from an experienced McKenzie Friend.

Wow, thanks Zonked.

He does want contact but minimal so it's a start.
We'll take what you've suggested into account. My partner has a McKenzie friend who he'll contact on Monday.

Thank you again.