Cafcass Positive Co-Parenting Programme (‘CPPP’)
In her latest blog, Family Law Solicitor, Jessica Barnett, talks about the new Cafcass Positive Co-Parenting Programme (CPPP)……
This new 12-week programme is becoming more of a feature in private law children matters where there is a dispute as to the arrangements for a child/children. After a two-year pilot scheme, the CPPP was rolled out nationally in May 2020.
Who Is Eligible For The Programme?
When making their initial enquiries of a family in private law applications, Cafcass will identify cases which may benefit from, and be suitable for, the programme. The programme is not available to families who are not involved in court proceedings at this stage. Usually suitable cases are ones in which the court has identified that a child faces risk from prolonged and/or unresolved conflict within their family. This conflict being the main barrier to agreeing arrangements for the child.
The programme aims to improve communication between parents to reach a positive outcome for families without the usual delay and adversarial nature of the usual court process.
Parents will both need to volunteer to take part in the programme. They will be expected to engage in sessions lead by specially trained Cafcass Family Court Advisors around improving communication between one another. They will be asked to work together to focus on the child/children involved as opposed to their own conflict.
What If I’m Asked To Join The Programme?
If the Family Court Advisor assigned to your case recommends the programme, you as a parent can expect to attend two out of four sessions across the 12-week period. Initially the Cafcass officer will lead one-to-one sessions with each parent to get to grips with your family’s specific set of circumstances and see what may be issues for you in coming to an agreement.
In some circumstances the Cafcass officer may advise a pause in contact between a child and one of their parents at the outset of the CPPP. In other cases contact will continue throughout the term of the programme or may increase as the programme progresses.
Your child/children (depending on their age(s)) may be involved in a session so that their voice can be heard in the proceedings and they may be encouraged to write a letter or make a drawing to share with their parents.
The final meeting will usually be a joint meeting for parents where they will be able to discuss the best way forward and hopefully agree some of the arrangements for their child/children. The Cafcass officer will record this and the child’s wishes from a neutral standpoint in a report which will be filed with the Court and shared with parents and/their solicitors.
Is The Programme Guaranteed To Work?
As the CPPP aims to consider each case on an individual basis, it may be that the process runs differently for different families. It may also be that the programme does not work for your family and that the matter is returned to Court more quickly than originally planned.
In any event, the CPPP is a refreshing new approach to family law proceedings and gives parents more control over arrangements for their families and greater opportunity to make decisions themselves. This should enable families to return to Court with a proposal for the Judge to consider without the Court having to step in and make decisions for them.
For more info, please see the Cafcass information page on the programme: https://www.cafcass.gov.uk/grown-ups/parents-and-carers/divorce-and-separation/cafcass-positive-co-parenting-programme/
Jessica Barnett
October 2020