CAFCASS are overstretched and under-resourced and as such, offer no real value. They are not fit for purpose. My interview was on the phone two days before my first hearing and lasted no more than 10-15 minutes. My dad, who has made a CAO in parallel with mine, didn't even get a phone call. They accepted his questionnaire only and based their assessment (i.e. my son's life) purely on that!! He was gob-smacked.
They have made multiple, unprofessional mistakes in my case, and we have had to nag them for late safeguarding letters, which were written very poorly with critical inaccuracies that I had to challenge. I could say the same thing for all of my dealings with Social Services in my county as well. Absolutely not fit-for-purpose.
Remember that CAFCASS are employed to make a recommendation to the court. What they say is not always gospel. And you can most certainly challenge it.
My son is flourishing at school too. But it's not because his relationship with me has been disrupted. It's because his school is really good. The teachers are brilliant and all the other kids are great kids. This does not change the fact that a child needs a father.
Fathers offer protection. We are role models. We offer encouragement. Emotional support.
Children who have an involved father are more likely to be emotionally secure, be confident to explore their surroundings, and, as they grow older, have better social connections.
The way that fathers play with their children also has an important impact on a child's emotional and social development. Fathers spend a higher percentage of their one-to-one interactions with children in stimulating, playful activity than do mothers. From these interactions, children learn how to regulate their feelings and behavior.
Children with involved, caring fathers also have better educational outcomes. The influence of a father's involvement extends into adolescence and young adulthood. Numerous studies find that an active and nurturing style of fathering is associated with better verbal skills, intellectual functioning, and academic achievement among adolescents.
There is no question that fathers play an important part in their children's lives: the majority of studies affirm that an involved father can play a crucial role, particularly in the cognitive, behavioral, and general health and well-being areas of a child's life; having a positive male role model helps an adolescent boy develop positive male-role characteristics.
The CAFCASS (and Family Court) mantra is typically, children benefit from two, safe, loving parents. Don't let the sometimes callous and unempathetic manner in which they compose a safeguarding letter deflate you. It's a casework production line. They give us no emotional consideration at all.
We are just as important as the mother in our children's lives. In a unique way that mothers aren't designed for. And demonstrating that to the court is the objective here. The power to influence the Judge etc to recognise this is in our power.
They have made multiple, unprofessional mistakes in my case, and we have had to nag them for late safeguarding letters, which were written very poorly with critical inaccuracies that I had to challenge. I could say the same thing for all of my dealings with Social Services in my county as well. Absolutely not fit-for-purpose.
Remember that CAFCASS are employed to make a recommendation to the court. What they say is not always gospel. And you can most certainly challenge it.
My son is flourishing at school too. But it's not because his relationship with me has been disrupted. It's because his school is really good. The teachers are brilliant and all the other kids are great kids. This does not change the fact that a child needs a father.
Fathers offer protection. We are role models. We offer encouragement. Emotional support.
Children who have an involved father are more likely to be emotionally secure, be confident to explore their surroundings, and, as they grow older, have better social connections.
The way that fathers play with their children also has an important impact on a child's emotional and social development. Fathers spend a higher percentage of their one-to-one interactions with children in stimulating, playful activity than do mothers. From these interactions, children learn how to regulate their feelings and behavior.
Children with involved, caring fathers also have better educational outcomes. The influence of a father's involvement extends into adolescence and young adulthood. Numerous studies find that an active and nurturing style of fathering is associated with better verbal skills, intellectual functioning, and academic achievement among adolescents.
There is no question that fathers play an important part in their children's lives: the majority of studies affirm that an involved father can play a crucial role, particularly in the cognitive, behavioral, and general health and well-being areas of a child's life; having a positive male role model helps an adolescent boy develop positive male-role characteristics.
The CAFCASS (and Family Court) mantra is typically, children benefit from two, safe, loving parents. Don't let the sometimes callous and unempathetic manner in which they compose a safeguarding letter deflate you. It's a casework production line. They give us no emotional consideration at all.
We are just as important as the mother in our children's lives. In a unique way that mothers aren't designed for. And demonstrating that to the court is the objective here. The power to influence the Judge etc to recognise this is in our power.
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