Court Delays Leave Children 'In Limbo'

Children who are at risk are being 'damaged' due to unprecedented delay in court cases over care, a report by Barnardo's has revealed.

The charity's report revealed that family courts are taking up to 65 weeks to rule if it is safe for children to stay with their parents.

The report found that vulnerable children were waiting on average 57 weeks in unstable family homes or emergency foster placements before a county count decided if they would be taken into care.

In family proceedings at the magistrates court, the average time was 45 weeks, which was more than ten months.

According to court data, at the end of 2009, there were 50 per cent more unresolved care proceedings than at the end of the previous year.

According to The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) in England, new applications account for less than half of this increase, indicating that the courts are taking longer to close a significant number of cases.

Martin Narey, Barnardo's Chief Executive, said: "An insecurity has spread through the family courts with additional, sequential expert assessments being routinely ordered. This paired with the evident lack of credence given to social workers, is causing unnecessary delay.

"The courts need urgently to reflect on the damage these delays are having on extremely vulnerable children. A year of a child's life is an inordinate amount of time for them to be trapped in desperate limbo, unclear of their future and very possibly at risk.

"During this time, these children might remain at home with neglectful or abusive birth families or be living in emergency foster care, expected to settle with families they may subsequently have to leave.

"At a time when stable relationships and secure attachments are vital for a child, they are instead engulfed in a period of uncertainty and confusion."

The data published by Barnardo's also uncovered a 'postcode lottery' governing the fate of children waiting for court decisions throughout England and Wales. In 2008-09 the county courts in Humber and South Yorkshire took an average of 46 weeks to come to a decision, whilst those in London took 65 weeks - a difference of nearly five months.

Barnardo's is calling for a radical culture shift in court practice and is urging the government to give urgent consideration to ensuring all cases are dealt with in less than 30 weeks with a tiered, fast track target of 12 weeks for children under 18 months.

The charity is also calling for provision of family group conferencing to all children and families prior to care proceedings, training for all court staff to improve understanding of the impact of delay on child development; and the establishment of liaison forums to improve links between the legal and social work professions to ensure there is greater confidence in social workers' professional expertise.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said that a family justice review was under way and that 4,000 extra sitting days had been added to the family courts earlier this year in order to deal with care cases.

(KMcA/BMcC)