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Cafcass has said it would need around 200 additional social workers to roll out the government’s flagship private law “pathfinder” reforms nationally — a model that has been praised for improving children’s experiences of the family courts.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has admitted that limited social work capacity remains a major barrier to expansion, despite evidence that the new approach has led to “substantially improved experiences and outcomes” for children and families in trial areas.
The pathfinder model, currently operating in Dorset and North Wales and due to reach ten family court areas by the end of 2025–26, was developed following a 2020 expert panel report which found that abuse and harm were being routinely minimised in private law proceedings and children’s voices were often going unheard.
Under the pathfinder approach, family court advisers (FCAs) — or in some cases, local authority social workers — meet children and families much earlier in proceedings to produce detailed child impact reports. These replace the initial safeguarding letters used under the existing Child Arrangements Programme (CAP) and aim to ensure children’s views and safety are prioritised from the outset.
Cafcass chief executive Jacky Tiotto told MPs that the model would require a significant uplift in staffing:
“We currently see around 30% of children in private law proceedings. Under the pathfinder model, that rises to about 80%. It’s very efficient for the courts, but for us, it requires a lot more social workers.”
Cafcass employs around 1,700 social workers. The organisation said its estimate of 200 additional staff reflects the extra hours needed to meet more children face-to-face, including travel and assessment time.
In its response to Community Care, Cafcass said:
“In pathfinder areas, we are seeing more children earlier in proceedings, allowing us to identify harm and risk more quickly. This change in how we work requires more time and resource. We are in discussion with the Ministry of Justice about how this extra capacity could be resourced.”
The MoJ acknowledged in evidence to the Public Accounts Committee that increasing Cafcass’s capacity was essential before national rollout could proceed. Then interim permanent secretary Amy Rees said:
“In order for this to be a success, you have to get the backlog down and have more social work capacity up front. That takes time.”
While evaluations found that the pathfinder reduced the number of hearings and time spent in court, the frontloading of work has created a “resourcing challenge” for both Cafcass and local authorities. Council costs in pathfinder areas were more than double those in comparator areas due to greater involvement in cases.
The Public Accounts Committee has called on the MoJ and Department for Education to publish a plan and timeline for wider rollout within 12 months, including details of how funding will be reallocated to meet the additional staffing demands.
