Research on 26-week target for care proceedings suggests positive impact on children

The introduction of the 26-week timeline for the vast majority of care proceedings has had a positive impact for children, research has suggested.

For a study commissioned by Cafcass and the Department for Education, researchers at the University of East Anglia examined cases in the Tri-borough area (Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Hammersmith & Fulham).

An earlier evaluation found that the Tri-borough pilot had succeeded in its key aim of reducing the length of care proceedings. The median duration of care proceedings was 27 weeks compared to 49 weeks the year before, a reduction of 45%. The pattern of final orders was also broadly the same for cases in the pilot year as in the year before, "suggesting that the drive to speed up proceedings does not result in significantly different court outcomes".

For the follow-up study, the UEA team compared outcomes for children before and after the revised Public Law Outline in 2014 which introduced the 26-week timeline. There were four main findings:

1. Reducing the duration of care proceedings did not mean that more children were left waiting for a permanent placement at the end of the proceedings. “On the contrary, a slightly higher proportion of children in the pilot year were already in their planned permanent placement at the end of the proceedings (65% compared to 60% the year before).”
2. For those who did need to move to a permanent placement afterwards, the focus on shorter care proceedings did not lead to extra delay here. “In fact, the average duration fell from 30 weeks to 14, a reduction of over 50%.”
3. The incidence of ‘serious problem indicators’ (e.g. breakdowns in permanent placements, renewed child protection concerns) declined for children from the pilot cohort compared to the pre-pilot cohort. “This suggests that quicker decision-making processes do not necessarily lead to less stable placements for children. Rather, the focus on good decision-making can lead to more secure outcomes.”
4. Shorter care proceedings did not result in more children living away from their families. The most frequent type of final placement for children in both cohorts was with their parent(s) followed by placements with relatives or friends.

Cafcass Chief Executive Anthony Douglas said: “Unnecessary delays in care proceedings mean that children have to live with insecurity and uncertainty, and this can impact on their chance of stability and permanence. This important report shows how the Tri-borough has made it possible to combine faster family justice with safe and positive outcomes for children. Our task now is to find ways to reach this level of performance throughout the country, so it becomes the professional norm.”

The full report, Outcomes for children of shorter court decision-making processes: A follow-up study of the Tri-borough care proceedings pilot, can be viewed here.