F4J's Young: "Contact orders are not worth the paper they are written on." , F4J rejects CAFCASS report

photo from icLiverpool

George Young, 34, of Walton, is an ex-paratrouper, and current member of the campaign group Fathers 4 Justice. It took him two hours to winch himself and his supplies to the roof of Liverpool's Roman Catholic cathedral today to demonstrate for fathers' rights.

Young says he plans to stay on the roof for a week in protest over access rights and has a priest outfit and banners reading "Wakey, Wakey Mr Blair" and "In the Name of the Father" .

Mr Young said: "I am just at the end of my tether. "Contact orders are not worth the paper they are written on."

icLiverpool article


'Dysfunctional' Cafcass Proposals Rejected by Dads

Just days before campaign group Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) take to the streets clad in pyjamas for their 'bedlam' campaign for overnight staying contact this Friday, the group have rejected proposals from Cafcass contained in their consultation paper 'Every Day Matters' published today.

F4J say that the content of the report indicates a 'deeply dysfunctional culture' within the organisation that treats children in isolation from their parents and families and in some cases abdicates responsibility for decision making onto the shoulders of very young children.

Fathers 4 Justice argues the report fails children at every level:

*Fails to define the 'child's bests interests principle' or outline how outcomes for children going through the court process will be measured.

*Despite being entitled 'Every Day Matters' there is no sense of urgency about the consultation process or the 100 children who lose contact with their fathers every day in the family courts.

*Abdicates responsibility onto the shoulders of children to the exclusion of their parents.

*Fails to outline in detail proposals to retrain Cafcass practitioners or what budget has been allocated for retraining.

*Fails to outline how it will improve its unaccountable complaints procedure.

*Fails to recognise Parental Alienation.

*Treats Children's and parents interests separately rather than recognising that these are intrinsically linked.

Said F4J Founder Matt O'Connor 'Whilst we welcome some aspects of the report such as presumptions of shared parenting, these are buried in the detail and not flagged in any way indicating that these have been included almost out of embarrassment rather than a desire to improve family law for thousands of children going through court this week.'

'If every day mattered then we wouldn't have wasted the last 365 days speaking to Cafcass nor have to wait another 105 days until their final recommendations are published during which we estimate another 10,500 kids will lose their fathers.'

'Cafcass is operating a dysfunctional culture where children are treated in isolation from their parents, where very young children are often being invited to make decisions between their parents and where the organisation is abdicating responsibility onto very young shoulders with all the long term guilt this will entail. It is indicative of the dysfunctional culture that permeates every aspect of family law and in turn this is creating a nation of dysfunctional children and families.'

Said O'Connor 'We don't buy it and will continue to campaign until the organisation ceases to exist.'