Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2018 18:33:10 +0100
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Qualifications - Parental Alienation
From: eva <[FOI #498634 email]>
To: FOI requests at CAFCASS <[email address]>
Dear Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service,
Keeping in mind that according to Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (hcpc) it is YOUR DUTY that you 3.1 You must keep within your scope of practice by only practising in the areas you have appropriate knowledge, skills and experience for. 4.1 You must only delegate work to someone who has the knowledge, skills and experience needed to carry it out safely and effectively, please answer my following questions:
When a case is referred to you to investigate allegations of PA do you consider it to be your duty to make sure that the FCA allocated to the case is fully TRAINED in recognising symptoms of PA?
Or any FCA (including those who have not been trained, used webinars, e-modules, libraries you have, knowledge bites etc on PA) can be allocated to the case?
How do you make your FCA accountable to stay within her/his scope of practice by only practising in the areas she/he has appropriate knowledge, skills and experience for?
What is your protocol when you receive a complaint regarding an FCA's experience, credibility, qualifications and NOT her/his professional opinion?
How can I request information on my FCA's qualifications knowledge, skills and experience?
Do you support a FCA to have a "professional opinion" on such a specialised subject like PA even if they do not have the appropriate training to recognise the signs and symptoms? Kind of like a GP having a professional opinion on brain surgery- surely that would require a specialised doctor (a neurosurgeon) to have such a professional opinion?
Do you consider Parental Alienation to be emotional abuse?
If so, do you believe that Parental Alienation allegations should be equally investigated to Domestic Violence allegations?
What is your protocol when there court asks you to investigate both DV and PA? Do you make sure both parties are heard?
Pleaser note, I understand that All Cafcass Family Court Advisers (which includes those acting as Children’s Guardians) are qualified social workers with a Diploma in Social Work (or recognised equivalent) and at least three years post qualifying experience in social work with children and families at risk. As a condition of employment, Family Court Advisers must maintain their registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Further to experience in social work, our Family Court Advisers receive training while at Cafcass in order to assist with their continued professional development; as part of registration with the HCPC, all social workers on a biennial basis must provide evidence of their professional development.
• All social work staff are required to complete six core in-house training modules upon joining the organisation, which will be completed within the first six months:
• Risk and Harm in Cafcass;
• Legal Context and Court Skills;
• Case Work Start to Finish;
• Interviewing Skills in Cafcass;
• Child Sexual Exploitation;
• Introduction to Private Law/Public Law.
• Basic training is complemented by other training events available throughout the year for both social work and non-social work staff.
• Cafcass have an internal National Improvement Service (NIS) who run workshops across the country tailored to local training needs analysis.
• mySkills, an online eLearning platform, offers learning on a range of social work and non-social work topics.
• All FCAs are registered with the HCPC and subscribe to the professional capabilities (section 5) in accordance with this registration." All this does NOT make an FCA TRAINED in recognising PA
Yours faithfully,
Eva Nagy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #498634 email]
Is [email address] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_request/new?body=cafcass
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/officers
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the latest advice from the ICO:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-guidance-for-authorities
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
