Re Louise Tickle’s article (Twisted priorities mean Cafcass has failed to protect children from abusive parents, 28 July), the first duty of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service is to safeguard children in family proceedings and to make recommendations to the family court about what is safe and in their best interests. This is complex work, which we undertake with both integrity and the explicit intention of getting it right for every child. We fully accept that we will and do make mistakes, and in such instances we must make a full apology as well as making sustained changes in response.
The safety of every child in every case is beyond important and of paramount concern. We seek always to make balanced judgments about the protection of children as well as their involvement and contact with their parents. Our learning and improvement board will help us to improve our practice, specifically making sure that parents and children understand the rationale for our recommendations to the court. I think the absence of any balance in the opinion piece by Ms Tickle is both unfortunate and unhelpful to the children and families we serve.
Jacky Tiotto
Chief executive, Cafcass
