Children and families who are involved in care proceedings are among the most vulnerable in society. At the time an application is made to court, 60% of children are under six years of age and 14% are less than one year old.
As the average care case lasts almost a year, care proceedings often overshadow the early years of a child's life. This is a time in which the child is left uncertain as to his or her future and is often moved between several temporary care arrangements.
A number of proposals to improve the system for children and families by reducing unnecessary delay were announced in 'The Review of the Child Care Proceedings System in England and Wales' published May 2006. The review encourages early intervention to find resolutions before cases reach court, and when cases do proceed to court identifies ways to improve the quality of local authority applications and encourage robust case management.
We are working to achieve better and improved outcomes for vulnerable children by ensuring all agencies work together collaboratively to establish safe, permanent and timely child focused solutions – and by reducing the distress caused by unnecessary delay in care proceedings.
Together with the Department for Education (DfES) and Skills, the Welsh Assembly Government, the judiciary, CAFCASS, CAFCASS Cymru and the Legal Services Commission, we are taking forward the recommendations set out in the review, as well as existing initiatives, to ensure there is a coordinated approach to reducing delay in care proceedings.
The majority of the review’s immediate recommendations are being implemented through a combination of:
We publish a regular newsletter for those interested in our work and the progress we are making. If you would like to receive copies when they become available, please contact:
Care Proceedings Programme
Department for Constitutional Affairs
4.22, Selborne House
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW