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Baroness Pitkeathley, the chair of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, believes the organisation has been treated unfairly by the press during its turbulent three-year existence.

So it seems one of those strange ironies that Cafcass's head office is in Newspaper House, a 1960s-style office block just around the corner from Fleet Street.

Cafcass will be moving to new offices later in the year and Pitkeathley hopes it will signify a move away from the negative and demoralising media attention that has surrounded it.


"Cafcass has been an organisation in a defensive mode and the press hasn't helped that," she explains.

"Even from afar [she joined the organisation in December 2003] I was aware that Cafcass had an unfair bad press and been blamed for difficulties not of its own making."

But in many ways this has increased her appetite for the job. "I relish a challenge and this was a job that needed doing. I was privileged to be approached for it and I really wanted to do something to help."

You would expect a new chair to be this upbeat, especially one as experienced as Pitkeathley. She has been a chair of two other non-governmental public bodies and is about to relinquish her role as chair of the soon to be scrapped New Opportunities Fund. Since 1997, she has been an active peer in the House of Lords.

Pitkeathley works two days a week for Cafcass. Her contract runs until December 2005, and by her own admission, "we won't achieve everything in that time". Nevertheless, she plans to draw on her strengths to transform the organisation.

"I am a dogged campaigner and good at getting issues discussed and getting them on the agenda. I have an inclusive style and recognise the importance of team work," she adds.

Maybe Pitkeathley was picked for the job because she is someone with political influence and a track record in taking the fight to the media. She was an active campaigner for carers' rights in the 1980s and went on to become the first chief executive of the Carers National Association.

She will have to draw on all her skills if she is to change the image of Cafcass. Last year's damning Department of Constitutional Affairs select committee report into Cafcass was the culmination of two years of problems on operational, managerial and organisational levels. One of its recommendations was for the make up of the Cafcass board to be reviewed mainly because many of its members lacked knowledge of front line practice in children and family law.

Last October the chair and 12 other board members resigned. Six months on, a new board has been recruited, made up of professionals with credentials in legal and children's matters, answering those who voiced fears the drawn-out process reflected difficulties in attracting quality candidates.

"Any appointments that have to be signed off by the government take longer than anticipated," says Pitkeathley. "They have a tremendous commitment to children's issues, have a great deal of experience and come from a variety of backgrounds. They have an understanding of what a board's role is."

However, there was no place on the new board for the one former board member praised by the committee for giving an insight into the failings of Cafcass. A parliamentary inquiry earlier this year showed that the decision to suspend Judy Weleminsky from the board - she refused to resign - had been partly influenced by her giving evidence to the select committee.

"I've known Judy for many years," says Pitkeathley. "There was a long list and short list and she didn't appear on either. I don't know if she applied but I am very happy with the board I have." It transpired that Weleminsky had reapplied.

New board appointed
One of the central issues in Weleminsky's case was whether she had a responsibility as a board member to act corporately, and whether, by whistleblowing, she'd failed to do that. However, Pitkeathley believes Cafcass needs a board which is "strong but corporate" in its views.

While Pitkeathley is understandably keen to look ahead, she recognises the mistakes of the past cannot be brushed under the carpet. However, she has a point when saying many of the problems highlighted by the select committee were representative of Cafcass's first year.


"It was unfortunate timing and dredged up a lot of things. It had a devastating effect on the organisation's morale and the resignations followed. This was unprecedented in many ways," she adds.

Many of the problems highlighted were already being addressed, she says. Delays in guardians being allocated by Cafcass to children have come down substantially in the past year.

Despite delays now standing at around 300 in England - it was running at double this in late 2002 - "we're not complacent", says Pitkeathley. "Any delays are too much, but they may depend on levels of demand and throughput of the courts. I think Cafcass has been blamed for things that have a wider genesis."

According to the select committee, Cafcass needs to attract back former self-employed guardians that left the service over a contract dispute. Guardians' organisation Nagalro has welcomed Pitkeathley's appointment and constructive approach - she has written to self-employed workers urging them to come back.

"Our relationship is much better and I am constantly in contact with Nagalro. I'm not saying all the problems of the past can be wiped out but I am confident we will attract more back," says Pitkeathley.

Cafcass is also working with the Department for Education and Skills - it transferred to the DfES in late 2003 - to clarify the boundaries of its relationship. It is also currently negotiating an increase in its budget - £95m last year - with the DfES for 2004-05.

Employee training
Another major criticism was the training of Cafcass employees. This was brought to the fore recently with the criticisms of the Cafcass guardian in the Toni-Ann Byfield case. Some believe that inexperienced guardians are being given too much responsibility because Cafcass has reduced the amount of experience professionals need to become one and are multi-skilling guardians so they can work on public and private law cases, instead of specialising in one or the other.

Pitkeathley admits people are right to be concerned. "It is a very difficult issue. On the one hand, we need more people but on other we are saying there is not enough training. But it is not just Cafcass that has workforce problems - the whole social care sector does.

"Convergence is where we're aiming for but you don't converge people overnight. You need to have support so people can figure out what their needs are. Some people may come into the organisation with those skills while others need training and development," she says. A new training programme currently being rolled out should help with that, she adds.

Over the next 18 months Pitkeathley wants to develop links with the Association of Directors of Social Services and local authorities "because we're fishing in the same pool for workers", and increase the amount of preventative work Cafcass does.

"Contributing to the preventative agenda is where Cafcass has always intended to be, but we can't be doing that at the expense of our core business of looking after vulnerable children."

She has written 10 books on a range of social work, health and carers issues, as well as one on age gap relationships - "it's out of print and before you ask it wasn't based on personal experience".

She believes she has been able to apply the discipline of completing a project to her writing. "I get things done - I've never missed a deadline in my life."

Cafcass will be hoping she is true to her word.