Times Online Article

[Alison J Stevens]

This is happening all over the Country, the Family Courts are in meltdown, due to the increase in Care Proceedings, which in some parts of the UK is by as much as 75%.
One Local Authority has decided to drop 500 cases, due to the inability to safeguard vulnerable Children, due to the increase in caseloads.
There is a five to six month wait in the West Midlands for Guardians to be appointed; Guardians should be appointed within a week, of entering the Family Court arena.
Cafcass have brought out new Guidelines, to try and solve the problem, with reference to the backlog of cases, but obviously the former is failing, a six month wait is totally unacceptable, and is failing Children and families, on a large scale, possibly leaving Children at risk of abuse or even death and in the majority of cases, innocent Parents being apart from their Children, for a longer time scale.
With reference to the 500 cases that have been dropped, the question is should they have ever been instigated in the first place, once again, a waste of the taxpayers money?

Article Link: - http://timesonline.typepad.com/law/2009/09/delays-in-childrens-cases-under-attack.htm