How does a FCA identify malicious misstatement that the other party has a Personality disorder that is unsubstantiated

The request was partially successful.

Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

There are over 300 “mental health diagnosis” in the DSM V: Diagnostic and Statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition.

1a Which specific diagnosis’s in the DSM V do Cafcass deem “harmful to a child” please list all mental health disorders that Cafcass deem “harmful” to a child ?

2. I refer to Cafcass ‘distinguishing domestic violence and harmful conflict screening tool’ where it states:

. “The other parent has UNMANAGED mental health issues/ substance and or alcohol misuses / Personality disorder or other factors that impact on their capacity to provide attuned and consistent care”

a. Therefore what precisely does Cafcass mean by UNMANAGED mental health issues ?
b. Does the FCA, within Cafcass policies and procedures “confirm” if mental health issues are managed by the person with unmanaged mental health “by speaking to a “ GP or mental health specialist ?
C how does the FCA proceed in line with Cafcass policies & procedures, the law and the 2010 Equality Act if the service users mental health issues are in fact “MANAGED” by GP and or Expert mental health professionals ?
d. If one services user tells the FCA the other service user has a personality disorder would the FCA

1. Take it at face value that the service user has a personality disorder ?
or
2. Seek confirmation of diagnosis of personality disorder from a GP/mental health expert professional ?
or
3. What Cafcass policies & procedures within the law would an FCA follow to ascertain the accuracy of one service user claiming the other has a personality disorder ?

4. What action would a FCA be expected to take within Cafcass policies & procedure and in law if a service user had maliciously and incorrectly told the FCA the other service user has a personality disorder where medical evidence shows they do not have a personality disorder.

5. What action does Cafcass state a FCA must take when a service user makes false allegations about another service users mental health diagnosis, within Cafcass policies & procedures the law and 2010 Equality Act ?

3a How does an FCA verify if a service user does or does not have a personality disorder
and
3b How does the FCA “proceed” to finding these facts i.e : if a personality disorder is medically present.
3c If there was dispute from the other party “ no personality disorder” is present does the FCA proceed in the assessment or seek medical confirmation or refer it to the court to carry out “fact finding” or what ?

Yours faithfully
[Name Removed]

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Please accept this as formal acknowledgement of your Freedom of
Information request which was received by Cafcass on 15 December 2018.

 

Your reference number is CAF18-156.

 

We aim to respond to your promptly, and at the latest 20 working days from
receipt of your request. You will therefore receive a response on or
before 09 January 2019.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

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Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

3 Attachments

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email, Please find attached our response to your
Freedom of Information request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

Cafcass email addresses have changed to end in @cafcass.gov.uk. Please
ensure you update your address book. For more information on this change
please see our  [4]website

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Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's handling of my FOI request 'How does a FCA identify malicious misstatement that the other party has a Personality disorder that is unsubstantiated'.

I am dissatisfied with your response therefore please provide me with the document/s Cafcass hold from 2012 year on year to January 2019 containing the words “ the other parent has unmanaged mental health issues”
and please state clearly when these words were in Cafcass document/s and what date they were removed or the specific document containing the words was changed.

Please quote specific mental health diagnosis held on Cafcass documents i.e personality disorder, dementia, or any other mental health diagnosis Cafcass refer to .

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email which let us know that you were unhappy with the
decision made in the FOI response of CAF18-156 and requested a review of
the decision.

 

This  email serves to acknowledge that your request was received on 07
January 2019 and will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

 

A Senior Officer who was not party to the original decision on whether to
release the information will conduct the internal review. An internal
review involves a review of the decision on disclosure in the original
response and the way in which the request was handled. The internal
reviewer can either uphold or overturn the original decision.

 

Cafcass will notify you as to the final decision made regarding your
internal review 20 working days from receipt of your request.  You will
therefore receive a response on or before 01 February 2019.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

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Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's handling of my FOI request 'How does a FCA identify malicious misstatement that the other party has a Personality disorder that is unsubstantiated

Please also provide information as to whether these words were used in documents as part of a trial or any other capacity & supply dates and all details of the documents in whichever document Cafcass holds. Please supply clearly where Cafcass have published these words, which document they were held within and with which external agencies were they made available to.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

4 Attachments

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email. Please find attached our response to your
request for an internal review of your Freedom of Information request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

Cafcass email addresses have changed to end in @cafcass.gov.uk. Please
ensure you update your address book. For more information on this change
please see our  [4]website

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Dear Governance,

1. If a persons mental health is ‘unmanaged’ then how would the FCA ‘ethically and professionally” assess the person with unmanaged mental health, given Cafcass FCA’s are not qualified to diagnose without “professional expert mental health assessment” ? How in Cafcass policies & procedures does the FCA obtain an accurate professional view that is non discriminatory ?

2. Are the tools you refer to in this request Cafcass FCA’s deemed fit for purpose by external stakeholders/external experts ? Which experts have approved the information you have provided ? Which expert deemed these ethical and free from prejudiced and insensitive references so as to ensure your literature is not adversely influencing FCA’s reading this to enforce damaging stereotypes, distress, or offence to people who experience a specific psychiatric disorder ?

3. Has the information you have provided been scrutinised externally by medical experts/ psychiatric experts, Equality experts, Disability experts and any other relevant external stakeholders who have approved your information around mental heath is non discriminatory and further to ensure they do not contain discriminatory language and ensure FCA’s applying tools and acting upon this guidance are not breaching the 2010 Equality act, Human rights act etc

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Please accept this as formal acknowledgement of your Freedom of
Information request which was received by Cafcass on 25 January 2019.

 

Your reference number is CAF19-029.

 

We aim to respond to your promptly, and at the latest 20 working days from
receipt of your request. You will therefore receive a response on or
before 21 February 2019.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

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Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's handling of my FOI request 'How does a FCA identify malicious misstatement that the other party has a Personality disorder that is unsubstantiated'.

You state “Cafcass does not have a Specific definition for unmanaged mental health issues but expect our practitioners to understand the general meaning to mean issues are not being addressed or treated with medical intervention or support which are having a negative impact on the individual and their capacity to provide attuned and consistent care to the child children”

1.Given that ‘there is no definition for the phrase ‘unmanaged mental health’ and Cafcass do not have a specific definition where have a Cafcass obtained this information from ?

2. Based on what specific information does Cafcass “expect” their practitioners to understand the general meaning when in fact there is no definitive medical meaning ?

3. When referring to mental health Cafcass should be reminded it is medical therefore in what training or resource does it state that Practitioners are “expected” to understand ? Where is the evidence base here?

3. Which ‘source’ has the author of this freedom of information request taken the definition of unmanaged mental health provided to me in the response from ? Please supply this information

If this explanation provided is a construction of head of Legal please state it is your personal construction ?

4. Does Cafcass confuse ‘unmanaged mental health’ which in psychiatric or medical parlance is not a definition perhaps with ‘undiagnosed mental health which has different meaning ?

5. It’s somewhat disconcerting that “unmanaged mental health” is contained within a ‘child impact assessment framework” where decisions FCA’s Cafcass ‘expect to make’ have in real terms an impact upon a child/families life.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service's handling of my FOI request 'How does a FCA identify malicious misstatement that the other party has a Personality disorder that is unsubstantiated”

NB : Unmanaged is a perception that could be construed in many ways and is not ‘limited to the interpretation you have provided’ i.e the person may face barriers due to waiting lists, live in areas where there are under resourced services or limited treatment. It is a very dangerous method to make assumptions about ‘unmanaged mental health’ and it could be damaging to a child’s future if FCA’s are ‘expected’ to assume it means what you state.

In many regions there are ‘barriers to treatment and support’ which is a political issue being addressed by many politicians.

1. Have any of Cafcass staff raised concerns/complaints/ enquiries as to the containment of ‘unmanaged mental health’ within the Child impact assessment framework” and Cafcass’ expectations placed on the FCA ?

2. Cafcass appear to hold negative views about mental health and the above shows there can be alternative possible explanations that are positive. Has any member of staff within the Cafcass entity raised concerns about the negative connotations your explanation of unmanaged mental health or concerns about how draconian views such as you provide may be derogatory, insulting slurs and may have a damaging effect if FCA’s are ‘expected’ to follow your ‘narrow explanation’ you have supplied.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

Yours faithfully,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Please note that Cafcass has completed an internal review of your Freedom
of Information request (CAF18-156)and our response to your request for an
internal review marks the end of the internal review process.

 

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.
 This can be done via [1][email address]  or Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

 

Please also note that as you have asked for new information, your request
will be treated as a new Freedom of Information request.

 

Please accept this as formal acknowledgement of your Freedom of
Information request which was received by Cafcass on 25 January 2019.

 

Your reference number is CAF19-037.

 

We aim to respond to your promptly, and at the latest 20 working days from
receipt of your request. You will therefore receive a response on or
before 21 February 2019.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [2][CAFCASS request email] | ü [3]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[4]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

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Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email. Please find attached our response to your
Freedom of Information request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

Cafcass email addresses have changed to end in @cafcass.gov.uk. Please
ensure you update your address book. For more information on this change
please see our  [4]website

show quoted sections

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email. Please find attached our response to your
Freedom of Information request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cafcass email addresses have changed to end in @cafcass.gov.uk. Please
ensure you update your address book. For more information on this change
please see our  [4]website

show quoted sections

Dear Governance,

Answering question 3 you state :

“ in the risk and harm induction training the impact of domestic violence on children’s mental is explored such as post traumatic stress, neuro biological changes, and depression; practitioners are referred to research in this area and consideration is given to mental health issues of parents and the fact that that children whose parents have mental health issues are at increased risk of developing this themselves”.

1. a.Your response appears in a few instances to be grammatically incorrect could you clarify an appropriate response ?

b. Could you provide the information where this paragraph is in full context showing the full information you drew this response from which may include providing full information of risk and harm induction for clarification.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed]

Governance, Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Soeder,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Please see below for our clarified response in answer to question three
from your Freedom of Information request (CAF19-037).

 

Cafcass does not provide in-house training for our practitioners which
focuses exclusively on mental health. The topic is briefly taught within
our Risk and Harm induction course. This training is given in order to
teach our practitioners about risk and harm issues in relation to their
role in family court proceedings. Staff do not obtain a recognised
 qualification in mental health as a result of completing the training

 

In the Risk and Harm induction training, the impact of domestic violence
on children’s mental health is explored, for example topics of
post-traumatic stress, neuro-biological changes, and depression are
discussed in the training. Practitioners are referred to research in the
areas of domestic abuse and mental health. In the training, consideration
is also given to mental health issues of parents and the fact that that
children whose parents have mental health issues are at increased risk of
developing mental health issues themselves. 

 

Cafcass staff have access to resources and new research via our in-house
library service to assist practitioners when working with parents. This
includes resource lists on specific topics which list the resources
available to staff from the Cafcass library on these topics. Cafcass has
several resource lists on the topic of mental health.

 

In regards to question 1b, the paragraph originally provided in response
to your Freedom of Information request (CAF19-037)  was taken from our FOI
Knowledge base, from the subsection titled ‘Mental Health’ within the
Training section of the Knowledge Base. This information was provided to
the Governance Team by the National Improvement Service, who are
responsible for learning, development and training at Cafcass.

 

Kind regards,

 

Governance Team | Cafcass

* [1][CAFCASS request email] | ü [2]www.cafcass.gov.uk 

[3]Cafcass_Logo_2014_email

 

 

 

 

 

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Dear Governance,

I will tell you exactly what ‘unmanaged mental health means’:

Everybody has mental health and everybody has health.

1 in 4 people have mental heath “issues”

Some people have a clinical diagnosis: defined by a clinical expert who is qualified

‘Unmanaged’ mental health applies to every person who do not see a clinician i.e a large proportion of the population who have mental health as everyone does but doesn’t see it as a problem or consider the self not to have mental health ‘problems’ i.e the general population who work have ‘unmanaged mental health’

Just the same way as everyone has health if they do not require clinical intervention they have ‘un managed health’

Yours sincerely,

[Name Removed]