This page hosts a series of practical resources, such as templates, tools and practice guidance which will be of interest to anyone working in the family justice system.
A number of these resources have been produced by sub-groups made up of sector representatives involved with the President of the Family Division’s Public Law Working Group or produced by partner agencies and do not belong to ADCS.
This collection of resources is offered as a single point of reference for practitioners working in the family justice system, particularly local authority social workers, court advisors and legal staff.
New resources or tools developed by individual local authorities or via regional collaboration always welcome to benefit the wider sector, please share via info@adcs.org.uk, thank you.
Resources developed by the sector
- LATEST: Joint guidance where the views of the LA and Cafcass Guardian fundamentally differs
- Briefing and compliance resources on medical information considered by ADM in adoption
- Essex County Council’s PLO audit tool
- ADCS and Cafcass Section 7 policy (last updated 2023)
- Pan-Sussex Section 7 Template: Resource pack | template
- Section 20 practice guidance
- Good practice guidance for adoption agencies and Cafcass: Children relinquished for adoption
Other resources
- The Cafcass FJYPB have developed a series of top tips for professionals working with children
- The Family Justice Observatory’s resource hub
- The Family Justice Council periodically publishes sector resources and guidance
- In 2022, DfE funded RiP family justice resource hub focused on pre-proceedings
- Research in Practice produce regular case law and legal summaries
- CFAB has developed a library of cultural family life briefings aimed at social workers alongside a suite of factsheets for professionals
- Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: Disclosure of Information between Family and Criminal Agencies and Jurisdictions: 2024 Protocol.
Resources from the Public Law Working Group’s final report (2021)
- Top 10 tips on use of the PLO document
- Best practice guidance (BPG) on Special Guardianship Orders and a presentation on the highlights of the SGO guidance to support local implementation and use
- BPG on work with families prior to court and a presentation on the highlights of the pre-proceedings guidance
- BPG on the application and case management and presentations summarising the application guidance and case management guidance
- BPG the use of Section 20 / Section 76 accommodation and a presentation on the highlights of the S20/S76 guidance
- The LA reps on the PLWG’s training and implementation sub-group have drawn up an audit tool for LAs to use to benchmark local services and systems against the recommendations and reforms set out in the PLWG final report, a Microsoft Word version can be found here
- The Judicial College supported the development of three videos about the best practice guides to support local training and development efforts
- Top tips for professionals from the Cafcass Family Justice Young People’s Board (various)
- Family Rights Group Charter
- A parent’s perspective on the standard template for a letter before proceedings
- Social Work Evidence Template (SWET).
Relevant reports and background reading
- Final report of the President’s Public Law Working Group (March 2021)
- Final report of the President’s Private Law Working Group (April 2020).
