Cafcass Reviews 

With so many bad reviews I’ll keep it brief, whether u believe or not god is watching all the terrible things your company is doing so crack on.

This review serves as a stark warning to any parents who are victims of domestic violence & have to deal with Cafcass and the family court. My two children still remain in the residence of the father on bail at an undisclosed address after being taken after immediately a serious assault, leaving all three of us still ongoing —victims of domestic violence—and in potential danger. She advocated for my case to simply be dismissed and no order made and recommended no fact finding was needed. I don’t know where they are and have had no contact or update on them all no for 3 years. SEEK LEGAL ADVICE AT ALL COSTS before dealing with them - I wish I had. I can’t sleep every night. This has been living hell on earth and a life sentance for me.

Dismissal of domestic violence: Despite the father facing criminal charges including counts of grievous bodily harm (GBH) and actual bodily harm (ABH) at Crown Court. Caffcass proactively took action to dismiss criminal case out of the equation and reported it after a chat with the father as “boiling over”, an embarrassment for my son which she then reported back to me smugly. She only spoke to my son with the father overseeing and only once or twice.

Caffcass's behaviour & conduct involved victim-blaming and mockery. She belittled the abuse and suggested it is not harmful to my children and I need to tell them about it if I have an issue with it!!! As if to mock the fact I don’t even know where they are or have their numbers anymore! She focused heavily my time in the hospital and recuperation from a traumatic assault—to imply that I was at fault for my child's alignment with their father as physically absent. All this time I was dismissed through clear non-verbal cues like eye-rolling and tutting. Furthermore, the official deliberately omitted my concerns by pointedly physically stopping writing tutting when I spoke, only then angerly writting down their own questions and things I didn't actually say. The report intensely toxic &traumatised me, it contained horrible wording about me with no evidence as fact. At this point I called women’s aid in distress who said this is commonplace for Cafcass who live in a bubble where domestic abuse and violence conveniently for their workload doesn’t exist.

She said she recommended and encouraged my child to state, with the father present, that he wanted to "never see me ever again."and went a step further to suggest to my child that it could be "life changing". The report also called me an "embarrassment" due to the fact police were called by the NHS in the report. It has taken me months to recover from her visit and reading her report - I even had to take time off work. I don't think I will ever recover from this and its impacted my ability to attend Crown court as a witness.

The Guardian's actions actively supported the father's abuse agenda - not my children’s right to welfare, obstructing safeguards and the facts of evidence with CPS to the court. I still have not had any contact or updates regarding my children's health and academic progress. This whole report and Cafcass visit caused me such severe trauma that I was unable to attend the subsequent family court hearing. Also the last time I was able to go, his barrister constantly aggressively approached me in the waiting area where I was alone, stating the case would be dismissed. Ultimately, based on the Guardian's report the courts took no action other than dismissing the case, citing the child's age (he was 14 when removed) apparently no order was necessary. I assume they know each other what more can I say.

I believe my child's and my Human Rights were seriously breached. She denied my child’s welfare, enabling continued emotional and potential physical abuse. She even inappropriately and insensitively boasted to me about unrelated achievements including getting children to have contact with parents in prison.

Cafcass has failed to act despite the clear danger of coercive and physical abuse, citing my child's age (over 14) and his having his "own voice" as a reason for inaction. This excuse appears to minimise the gravity of the violence, treating it as an inconvenient embarrassment.

It is a disgrace that public taxes fund a service that lets down families so severely. Unlike the police and criminal courts, the Family Court system has no accountability or welfare processes, allowing Cafcass to support severe abuse and intimidation with the father who is remanded on bail.

Conflict of Interest: I was informed that Cafcass officials are "friends" with the more aggressive solicitors, raising serious questions about whose interests are truly being served. I strongly warn others to secure legal representation when dealing with Cafcass, as their conduct in my case demonstrates they cannot be trusted.

There was a couple times where I got pulled out of class to speak with a lady from cafcass (parents were going through divorce). She would give feedback on how I was with her during the talk. First time she put that i didn't make eye contact with her. Honestly why would I, I didn't exactly wanted to talk with some stranger about everything that was going on. So second time round I made sure I made eye contact with her. Again she put I didn't make eye contact with her. ABSOLUTE LIES. I really did make the effort to engage with her the second time round and she wrote lies on her feedback with me. Luckily that was the last time I ever had to speak with anyone from cafcass.

If I could give zero I would. The cafcass lady from Coventry talked down to my partner and I like we were small children. We were there due to trying to get 50/50 custody of his daughter who was dirty,neglected and spent most of her days being ‘home educated’ which was on her tablet in a room by herself all day and a long list of other reasons. Her mother was very manipulative and the cafcass officer was manipulated too I’m guessing which is bizarre considering they should be trained in this. This woman from cafcas was almost at retirement age too with some awful smirk on her face it was terrible . She said in her report that we were scapegoating the child. I don’t see how you are scapegoating a child when you are treating the child as one of your own;cleaning that child who hasn’t had a bath in a week,buying that child vests ,shoes and coats because it’s cold and her mother couldn’t be asked,un knotting their hair because it hasn’t been brushed since they saw you 10 days ago and the child is constantly dirty,sad and withdrawn. It’s just crazy what these people come up with!!

I've made several reports to the police, child services, NSPCC & told Cafcass about my ex physically abusing my daughter before she took off with her, the fact that my exes family are all on A class drugs, drink heavily all on a daily basis whilst in family homes around there children and I don't want that for my daughter, also my exes brother has been put on the SA register for abusing his exes cousins daughter who was a young child too and my ex is allowing her around him even know he's not allowed around kids, on top of that they keep bringing up my previous court cases saying I've been done for things that I've not, even as going as far to say I'm not in my daughter birth certificate to the court until I cut them off and told the court that this was a lie, I started the court case in the first place but for soem reason they've switched it on me when I've not even done anything, I'm now looking into what I can do about Cafcass and the emergency services like social services, police and NSPCC for negligence also defimation with Cafcass

If I could offer less stars I would. My sister’s family have had the unpleasant experience of being subject to a CAFCASS officer. The women in question uses the title “Dr”, following a PhD she wrote many years ago. This women is arrogant, insightless and has not grasped the dynamics of the case in order to protect the children. She is loud and abrasive. A 10 year old child commented that she was rude. This woman is within this “profession” for power. She does not have the skills; academic, emotional, or personal, to conduct a sensitive, comprehensive and safe investigation and analysis. Absolute disappointment. “Dr” is someone that is extremely confident. However this is misguided. She is completely lacking in skills to assess risk, and to grasp complex interpersonal dynamics, that are absolutely necessary tools for the job. This women does not appear to have read the background information, and has visited on only two occasions in one year. With this in mind, she feels entitled to form biased judgements. Some reflective space is needed for this Social Worker, as I’m sure it is for many. Fortunately, the Local Authority social worker has been wonderful which I understand (unfortunately) is a rare occurrence.

Giving one star is way to good to be giving these jokers! Worst system in the world create bs about people lie about things for it to go the way they desire! Talk about evil! That's caffcass for you! Nothing to do with been a bitter parent if organisations like this are able to create lies and bs based on pretty much nothing what does that say about the system? Somebody seriously needs toget rid of this! They portray to care for the welfare and safety of children but leave my kids with a narcissistic actor over a loving dad! With no option to see my kids due to the bs they have lied and created! Disgraceful organisation that really needs to be removed from the system!

Just not fit for purpose, the damage these people are doing to some children and parents is just unbelievable. When is the UK government going to do something about this incompitant institution that is causing so much harm to some people in this country. Get a grip Mr Prime Minister. Its absolutely shameful!!!

I have created a petition about manditory trauma informed training and standards. I cant post it here, it wont let me, but please look for it on the gov website. lets make this situation better, its a secret national emergancy what is happening nationwide with protecting perpetrators and vilifying victims of abuse and endangering children and enabling permanent damage too safe parents bonds with their children

Cafcass Officers are ignorant of child psychology, perpetrator behaviour and coercive control. They are capable of destroying family lives due to a lack of sufficient training, poor accountability and refusal to actually listen to the voices of children, which is their whole mandate. Cafcass continue to entertain and promulgate discredited ‘parental alienation’ tropes created by a discredited paedophile, which UK govnt and WHO refute, and CEO of Cafcass CEO is just a plain liar. Officers are incompetent liars. If I could give 0 rate I would.

Corrupt fkrs that profit from mothers and children’s suffering. The harm they cause mothers and children in the UK is irreversible. They need prosecuting.

Disgusting, disrespectful and Disgraceful company. Should be dissolved.

I am a father involved in family court proceedings in Chelmsford, and my experience with Cafcass has left me with very little faith in the system that is supposed to protect children and support families.

I specifically asked for a Cafcass report because I wanted proper scrutiny and evidence before decisions were made about my time with my children. Instead, what I got felt rushed, careless and, in my view, biased.

The Cafcass officer in Chelmsford interviewed me for about an hour and used a speech-to-text recorder. The final report was full of errors and statements which, in my opinion, were simply not accurate. I had offered my medical records and made it clear they were available – they were never requested or reviewed. Important context about my health and my situation was ignored.

To make matters worse, the report was sent to me late on a Friday afternoon, with a court hearing scheduled for the Monday. Cafcass had around three months to prepare this report, yet chose to leave it to the very last minute. That left me with almost no time to correct inaccuracies or meaningfully respond before the court relied on it.

As a father, and as a man who knows he is a good parent, it is hard not to feel that being a male parent worked against me. That is my honest perception after going through this process.

I did not just accept this. I went to my MP, Marie Gould, and then took my complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. I was told my complaint was about the process, not about the court order itself. The Ombudsman’s own wording says they can look at process – yet in my case they have chosen not to. So Cafcass make serious mistakes, the Ombudsman acknowledges they could look at how those decisions were made, and then simply decide they won’t.

From where I stand as a member of the public and a voter, it feels like these organisations close ranks and are effectively unaccountable, even when their actions shape how and when a parent can see their own children. That is frightening.

I will continue to explore options such as judicial review, but I am under no illusion: for an ordinary person, taking on state bodies is extremely difficult and expensive. And that is exactly why Cafcass, the Ombudsman and government need to do far better.

When an organisation has the power to influence whether a parent tucks their children into bed or only sees them under strict conditions, “good enough” is not good enough. We deserve a system that is accurate, fair, transparent and genuinely open to challenge – not one that brushes legitimate concerns aside

They simply do not care about “the child’s best interest”
They are very biased
They assume based on allegations not evidence!

CAFCASS are monsters, this organisation needs shutting down. The reviews speak for themselves, majority of 5 and 4 star reviews and not many might I add have even been incorrectly marked as 5 and 4 stars when reading the reviews and should be removed as it’s not accurate for any person reading what these people are actually about. We can’t all be lying and all CAFCASS officers that put children at risk and are guilty of gross negligence and gross missconduct should all be named. An inquest into this organisation and it’s failure towards children that have led to so many child deaths is much needed.

I’ve had another very long review from Cafcass.
I must say, after 10 years and multiple reviews, they’ve improved a lot in my opinion.
Felicia Cunningham from Cafcass was very professional, she always took the time to explain her thoughts and conclusions, she always took the time to listen without interruption and most importantly her recommendations made sense to me.

I take full accountability for allowing myself to get into this mess and I’m grateful that Cafcass allowed me to voice my concerns.

I would like to thank Cafcass for the help and support I’ve received from them in the past 10 years.

I sincerely hope my children will grow to have a healthy relationship with both their families.

I hope to watch them grow to be happy and have their own family someday. Most importantly I hope to give them the one thing I never had growing up; The presence and love of their father.

Again, thank you Cafcass.
Clarence

My recent experience with Cafcass showed a level of unprofessionalism and irresponsibility that no parent should ever encounter.

I communicated with Cafcass promptly and consistently. In return, I was ignored for days at a time. Important questions went unanswered. When serious decisions were made about restricting my contact with my daughter, no evidence was provided, no allegations were explained, and I was given no opportunity to respond.

Cafcass removed my contact based entirely on claims that were unsubstantiated, uninvestigated, and never put to me. There was no safeguarding order, no police action, no children’s services instruction. Both the police and social services independently confirmed there was no basis whatsoever for restricting my contact. Despite this, Cafcass still blocked my relationship with my daughter.

To make matters worse, the Cafcass officer who initiated the restriction then went on holiday immediately after making her decision, leaving no one assigned to the case and no mechanism to resolve the situation. For 10 days, there was no communication, no clarity, and no accountability from their side.

Emails to Cafcass, the school, and associated agencies were either met with silence or outright refusal to take responsibility. No one stepped in. No one explained anything. No one provided documents, dates, or evidence to justify the decision. I was simply cut off from my daughter with no lawful order, no safeguarding finding, no due process, and only the co-parent’s claim that any restriction existed.

When the officer finally returned and I was interviewed, instead of acknowledging her actions, I was told it would take another four weeks for a decision — despite the fact that she had made the original, life-changing decision in less than a day based purely on one parent’s allegations.

The court hearing that followed only exposed how deep the systemic issues run. The court sent the wrong time to all parties — telling us 12 while scheduling it for 2 — then rushed through a hearing that barely lasted 30 minutes. I was only allowed to read Cafcass’s outdated reasoning during the hearing, and even that report didn’t include anything from my interview with them. When I tried to explain the situation, I was talked over and cut off. Despite the chaos, the missing information, and the fact that both social services and the police had already confirmed they found no reason for restricting contact, the court still adopted Cafcass’s recommendations in full.

Cafcass claim to act “in the best interests of the child,” but in my experience they act without transparency, without communication, without due process, and with a level of vindictiveness that has no place in any public service role — let alone one with the power to inflict serious emotional harm on children and families. Their behaviour created unnecessary conflict, confusion between agencies, and distress for a child who had absolutely no reason to be separated from a parent.

This organisation needs urgent oversight, clearer standards, and real accountability. What happened in my case should not be happening to any family in this country — yet it is.

Cafcass are now one of the worst-rated organisations on Trustpilot, with over a thousand reviews averaging around one star. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because the same failings repeat: zero transparency, poor communication, decisions with no evidence, and parents left completely in the dark while their relationship with their children is disrupted or destroyed.

If Cafcass were not government-backed, they would not survive. No private organisation with this level of complaints, this level of incompetence, and this level of documented failure would still be trading.

Families deserve far better than this. Children certainly deserve better than this.

Very bad, they ignore evidence and separate siblings and parents and make ridiculous reports and the officers seem hardly educated.

The worst institution to deal with children. They write reports on words without fact checking, often lies during interview which only takes 30 min via single phone call.
Where one Cafcass officer doesn't go with rhetoric and sees exactly what's happening, they promptly alter them to align with their preferred narrative, thereby escalating the case to a high-conflict situation.
I primarily encountered cafcass workers who possessed no skills when it comes to family or parenting issues.
Very criminal institution, mainly focused to remove a parent from children's life.

I will update my review once I feel safe that they have no ability to harm the mental well being of my children and I any further! Advice to everyone - write to ombudsman and report what they have done, we pay taxes for them to destroy children’s lives with un proven allegations/lies of domestic abuse! they need to be shut down