Reserve The Date; Saturday 4th November. Not yet final, but highly probable. Our annual conference and annual general meeting. Somewhere in Manchester, to counter the perception that we are too London based.  

Can you help our helpline? 

CAFCASS introduce Practice Quality Standards for working with children and families. PRACTICE QUALITY STANDARDS

This month CAFCASS have updated their practice quality standards. These are not a set of rules or even objectives that might help parents get to the bottom of their criteria for making recommendations, but a set of questions for Family Court Advisors to use as a form of self-reflection. 

They may well tick one of the boxes presented by their recent focussed OFSTED report on 24th January LINK, but they are hardly a guide for confused parents. Certainly worth a read. 

FNF – BPM is the leading non-gendered shared parenting charity in England. We are a child welfare charity. We work to ensure that all children have a safe, continuing, and happy relationship with both their parents and wider families, following separation or divorce. 

Lobbying pretending to be ‘research’ 

Members of the Family Law Bar Association (barristers) and the Law Society (solicitors) are asked to fill in a questionnaire. It was instigated by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and sponsored by the Home Office. It is into how the family courts treat cases in which there are allegations of domestic abuse. 

A father who attends our meetings called us to express infinite gratitude for the support and guidance offered in our meetings. He was lost for words and tearful as he had just been reunited with his children after 2 years of no direct contact with them. 

He emphasised that without the support and services of FNF-Both Parents Matter he would have not achieved such a wonderful outcome for the children.  

Massive thanks to FNF on behalf of this humble and awesome father who fought tooth and nail for his children to have better outcomes in life and enjoy the love and warmth of a legendary dad. 

LINK TO THE PRESS ARTICLE

Outsiders' comments on court cases are usually inappropriate. Those directly involved have heard the cases and seen the evidence. Their views should normally be respected? Others are usually dependent on information from commentators with an agenda – even if only to get attention to their story. The Depp v Heard case comes to mind.  LINK

Alienating Behaviours Support Group For victims of Parental Alienation LINK TO GROUP INVITE

Founding/first meeting of our second ‘niche group’* was held on 24 April. Warm thanks and congratulations to the drivers of it – trustees Greg Downing and Ian Findlay. Ian started with an outline of the issues in the form of a Power Point presentation, and this was followed up by questions and discussions. Excellent support and advice were given.  

The next meeting will be on 29th May on Zoom. You can join the Support group in the link provided above. This will cover how to present the issues in court. Including how to combat allegations that the issue is simply one of an excluded parent trying to prolong his abuse of the mother of the children they had together. And sometimes trying to destroy the credentials of any professional who claims that alienation has happened.  

Register for the next online meeting here. LINK

Volunteer needed to do a very precise but important task: to go on the CAFCASS ‘Family Forum.’