Cafcass - got letter today!

Hi all.

Got a letter today from Cafcass saying they want to meet me and elder son who is 10 on 5th Jan (day they go back to school) for an Expression of Wishes meeting. My younger son whi is 7 years old is not mentioned in the letter.

Basically ex and i split 4 years ago he started seeing them to begin with then stopped and started 3 times all of his own accord, then November he took me to court saying i had refused access! Well the court hearing ending up with him being ordered to have a Physciatric report on him! this was because of his admissions to the judge of his recent mental state and his behaviour in court. The judge also ordered a Cafcass report.

The letter I got just say Expression of Wishes... is this the same as a proper report or just a meeting? I'm very confused and stressed about it all...

The letter states I have to attend a centre which is an hour away from me, means a day off work (unpaid) and day off school. The judge wants the report by 26th Jan. I'm confused by the timescale as most people tell me reports take months not weeks!

any clarification would help thanks.

Although there are backlogs of many months in some areas a CAFCASS report doesn't necessarily take that long. Part of the report will document what was said at meetings with parents and children including the children's wishes and feelings.

There is no standard s7 report, but typically they cover background information about the family's circumstances. The Court Welfare Officer will gather information from schools and the social work department if there has been any involvement with them. Also the child protection register is checked, as is the National Probation Service to see if parties are known to them.

The information gathered is checked against the welfare checklist (see s1 Children Act 1989) and the report concludes with recommendations.

the judge wants the report by the 26th... is this possible? is this a full report or just a chat to see what the boys want then take it from there? both my sons do not want anything to do with their father, they have not seen him for over 18 months now. Also he used to live about 10 mins away and now has given up his job so he does not have to pay csa, had his flat repossed and in the proces of being made bankrupt and has moved north living with family some 7 hours away from us! he also admitted to the judge he had a breakdown and tried to commit suicide hence the report on him. The boys are settled and happy here with me we have a routine, what sort of contact would he get?