Victoria Soeder
Cafcass National Office
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
3rd Floor
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3HF
Your ref: CAF 18-166
Our ref: Gov/CAF 18-166
Tel 0300 456 4000
07 January 2019
Dear Ms Soeder,
Re: Freedom of Information Request
Thank you for your email of 19 December 2018. You made the following requests for
information:
1. How does the FCA demonstrate evidence of good practice in acheiving the
following:
a. Identifying/gathering and analysing diversity factors effectively ?
Cafcass collects diversity data nationally, to understand important diversity issues in
our work, and so that we can build better services, both nationally and locally.
Staff are required to demonstrate appropriate identification, recording and reporting of
any relevant diversity factors affecting every child and family we work with. This
information is recorded on the case file. It is the FCA’s responsibility to identify any
diversity issues in a specific case as well as to complete basic monitoring
requirements of ethnicity, disability, first language, case type and child need which
are recorded on the case file. Diversity is monitored for all participants on a case,
which includes subject children, applicants, respondents and other parties.
It is the FCA’s responsibility to identify any relevant diversity issues in a specific case
and, where relevant diversity issues are identified, to include/analyse these. This is in
the context of the
welfare checklist, set out in part 1, section 1 of the Children Act
1989.
Best practice for FCAs when identifying and analysing diversity factors effectively is
set out in our
Operating Framework, sections 2.4 – 2.47.
Edward Timpson CBE Chair
Anthony Douglas CBE Chief Executive
Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, is a non-departmental body of the Ministry of Justice
Cafcass National Office, 3rd Floor, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF
b. At what point in line with Cafcass policies & procedures does the FCA specifically
obtain diversity information from adult service users ?
In private law proceedings at the Work to First Hearing (WTFH) Stage, Cafcass will
conduct telephone interviews with the parties in the case as part of our safeguarding
enquiries. During these interviews, FCAs will ask service users to provide their
diversity information and the diversity information of the subject child/children, which
is then recorded on the case file. Service users do not need to provide Cafcass with
this information if you they do not wish to and can decline to do so during the
telephone interview. This is set out in Cafcass’
Standard Operating Principles for
WTFH and the Interview Plan for EIT Telephone calls. Please find these documents
attached.
However, diversity information can be recorded on the case file at any point during
the case if this information is provided to Cafcass later in the proceedings.
We hope that you feel your question has been answered effectively. If you are unhappy with
the decisions made in relation to your request, you may ask for an internal review to be
undertaken. If you are dissatisfied with the way the internal review is handled or with the
final decision made at that review about the information released, you are free to contact the
Information Commissioner’s Office
(https://ico.org.uk/):
Post
Fax
Information Commissioner's Office
01625 524 510
Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Tel
Wilmslow,
0303 123 1113
Cheshire
E-mail
SK9 5AF
xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Governance Team
Cafcass
xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Edward Timpson CBE Chair
Anthony Douglas CBE Chief Executive
Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, is a non-departmental body of the Ministry of Justice
Cafcass National Office, 3rd Floor, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF
Edward Timpson CBE Chair
Anthony Douglas CBE Chief Executive
Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, is a non-departmental body of the Ministry of Justice
Cafcass National Office, 3rd Floor, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3HF
