Two new reports by the Family Justice Data Partnership on private family law

Two new reports by the Family Justice Data Partnership team have been published by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.

Summarising the findings from a journal article published in BJPsych Open, Uncovering private family law: anxiety and depression among children and young people is the first population-based study to examine the mental health needs of children involved in private law proceedings in Wales.  It provides an overview of the rates of depression and anxiety in this group over time and makes comparison to children not involved in the family court.  The report, led by Lucy Griffiths at Swansea University, is available in English and Welsh.

A second report, led by Claire Hargreaves and Linda Cusworth at CFJ, considers what the data tells us about children’s participation.  A child’s right to participate and have their voice heard in private law proceedings is acknowledged in legislation and guidance – both as a way of informing welfare-based decisions and upholding their rights. Whilst there are limitations to the data, the study found that almost half of cases that started in 2019/20 had one or markers of children’s participation – a Cafcass or local authority section 7 report, a local authority section 37 report and/or rule 16.4 guardian appointment.  The report is available here.

For further details, contact Dr Linda Cusworth (l.cusworth@lancaster.ac.uk)