Swan Family Centres awarded the South West and East of England of the Cafcass ICFA
Swan Family Centres awarded the South West and East of England of the Cafcass ICFA Swan Family Centres have officially been awarded the South West and the South East of England to operate with the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). Swan Family already works alongside Cafcass in our Lambeth centre and are delighted to be able to expand our services within our Croydon, Hackney, Bedford and Coventry centres too. The supported and supervised contact we can deliver aims to provide a safe, neutral and comfortable place for children to see their parents or family. Cafcass represents children in family court cases in England. They independently advise the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests. Cafcass put the child's needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children's voices are heard at the heart of the family court setting. Lucy Glass - Director of Contact Centres for Swan Family says: “We are excited and rearing to go with our new contracts. The work that both Swan Family and Cafcass can achieve when working together is unmatched and having the child at the very heart of our service will forever remain”. What is Improving Child and Family Arrangements (ICFA)? Improving Child and Family Arrangements (ICFA) is the service designed by Cafcass to help families agree safe, beneficial, and sustainable spending time with arrangements when they are finding it difficult to do so on their own. ICFA work is short term, court-ordered in private law cases only and has four expected key outcomes for families: 1. Reducing barriers and resistance to agreeing on arrangements and managing any risks so that these are safe 2. Promoting positive communication within families 3. Ensuring children’s wishes and feelings are heard and considered 4. Helping families agree on a Parenting Plan to avoid future issues arising The work will be tailored to meet the needs and outcomes of each individual family and should include application of learning from the Separated Parents Information Programme. ICFA work takes place over a few weeks and may include, but is not limited to: • Meeting the parents together and/or individually to help resolve issues and prepare them for spending time with the child/ren • Direct work with the child/ren to prepare them for spending time with the adult • Observation of the adult spending time with the child/ren in a contact centre, the home, the community, or any other suitable settings ICFA referrals are funded by Cafcass and are delivered by our contracted service providers. CANW is a lead provider of ICFA works in partnership with other organisations. Find out more about what Cafcass do and how they support families here.
