‘Pathfinder’ children courts evaluated
As we have explained here previously, a new approach to the way in which the courts deal with children disputes between parents is being piloted. Known as ‘Pathfinder’, the new approach was designed in response to a recommendation to reform the court process by trialling a more problem-solving, investigative approach, which better supports victims of domestic abuse and other harms.
The pilot was initially launched in February 2022 at family courts in North Wales and Dorset, and was expanded to South East Wales in April 2024, Birmingham in May 2024 and Mid and West Wales this March. It will also launch in West Yorkshire on the 3rd of June this year.
The Ministry of Justice has now published a report detailing research into how Pathfinder has been working in North Wales and Dorset.
As the report explains, the Pathfinder model introduced four things:
1. A dedicated Case Progression Officer in the court administrative team, who would focus on case coordination and provide a point of contact and support for families.
2. Direct funding for domestic abuse support agencies to conduct domestic abuse risk assessments, and to provide support to victim-survivors in appropriate Pathfinder cases.
3. ‘Frontloading’ case management with information gathering focused at the beginning of the court process. Before the first hearing Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (‘CAFCASS’) will have spoken to the parents and to the children, and compiled a substantial report describing the dispute and the children’s wishes and feelings. The report is called a ‘Child Impact Report’, and is designed to encourage the parents to look at the impact of what they are doing upon their child, and consider what needs to be done to resolve that.
4. Lastly, a focus on enhancing the voice of the child, by centring information gathering on the views and experiences of the child from the beginning of proceedings.
The research found that compared to the procedure used by other courts, those who participated in Pathfinder felt that it brought about substantial improvements, both in terms of the experiences of children and families, as well as to system efficiencies. In particular, centring on ‘the voice of the child’ in proceedings was recognised as a key aspect of the delivery of Pathfinder.
Participants also suggested that improving information gathering – and completing the assessment earlier in the process – were critical to the success of the Pathfinder model. The Child Impact Report was felt to be key to this ‘frontloading’ of information gathering and assessment.
In general, Pathfinder was perceived to be a more efficient court process, with improved communication and earlier information gathering leading to a swifter conclusion of cases, and a substantial reduction in the number of hearings in each case.
But the research also found that there are challenges with Pathfinder, although these mostly related to the implementation of a new process, rather than the Pathfinder model itself. There are also issues with funding, for example the additional costs for the provision of domestic abuse support services.
The evaluation report can be read here.
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