Cafcass carries out recruitment drive

Cafcass, the court support service for families, has appointed
around 100 new family court advisors and guardians across England
and Wales over the past five months to tackle staff shortages and
meet increasing workloads.

The recruitment drive follows staffing problems caused by contract
disputes plus an inherited shortfall from pre-Cafcass services. It
has now filled three-quarters of guardian vacancies.

The service aims to recruit a total of 137 people by the end of the
year – so far 90 new staff have been employed, with 11 further
offers on the table.

In addition, 11 self-employed guardians have been recruited.

Cafcass has also appointed 28 new children and family reporters
since April, with a further 10 vacancies looking to be filled.

In July, the service began employing 15 agency guardians to tackle
growing waiting lists, which in London alone had risen to 180
children.