Pathfinder comes to Birmingham: the way forward

On 28 May 2024, the Pathfinder Model was rolled out to all new private law children cases being heard in the Birmingham Family Court.

Designed to improve the court experience for those who need to use the court process to resolve disputes, the Pathfinder Model has already been rolled out in Dorset and North Wales to a positive reception. But what does this mean for families entering into children proceedings in Birmingham?

The purpose of the Pathfinder pilot

The Pathfinder Model was created following the Government’s Assessing the Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children’s Cases Report 2020.  This identified that the current adversarial court process often worsened conflict between parents, retraumatised victims of domestic abuse and caused distress to children. 

The purpose of the Pathfinder Model is to re-shape the current system to one which is less adversarial and more investigative, with an emphasis on problem-solving.  

The key aims are:

• to ensure that the voice of the child is heard in each case -  child-centric approach;
• to ensure that trauma to victims of domestic abuse is reduced as far as possible; and
• to better coordinate and streamline proceedings (particularly where both criminal and family law proceedings are ongoing) and improve information sharing across the justice system.

Anecdotal feedback from those involved in the pilot in Dorset and North Wales suggests that the better focus on the voice of the child at an early stage in the proceedings has led to:

• the earlier resolution of disputes;
• fewer hearings; and
• a process where everyone has felt safe. 

What happened before the Pathfinder Model was introduced?

The process that existed before Pathfinder was introduced in Birmingham is the one which continues to happen across almost all family courts in England.  After the court application is issued, CAFCASS (or CAFCASS Cymru in Wales) undertake initial safeguarding enquiries and then send a safeguarding letter to the court within 3-4 weeks of receiving the case.

This is then followed by a First Hearing and Dispute Resolution Appointment (often called a FHDRA) but at this point the information available to everyone involved in the case is quite limited.  If further information is needed the court has to adjourn the proceedings to allow more time to gather that information. 

Attending court is also an essential part of this process and this can add considerable delay in moving things forward.

What happens under the Pathfinder Model? 

In order to achieve its aims, the Pathfinder Model puts a much greater emphasis on what happens early on in the proceedings.

Initial safeguarding gatekeeping and case management review

Unless an exemption applies, families will still need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) before making an application to the court.  

An initial review of the application will then be carried out to ensure that there are no concerns about issues such as safeguarding or allegations of domestic abuse.  This review should happen within a day or two of the court receiving the application.

If any concerns are highlighted at this stage, the case will be fast-tracked to an urgent hearing where a decision will be taken as to how those concerns and allegations should be dealt with. 

Information gathering and assessment

Before the first hearing, a lot of information needs to be gathered to identify what is needed to move the case forward.  The court will set out what information they want and what they expect to happen next. 

The key document in the Pathfinder Model is the Child Impact Report.  This replaces the safeguarding letters.  It is prepared by CAFCASS over a six-week period and highlights what the specific issues are that need to be addressed, and whether any external agencies need to be involved to help resolve them.  This is a much more in-depth information gathering exercise and includes engaging with parents and other agencies where appropriate (such as police, the local authority or domestic abuse agencies). Importantly there is also a presumption that children will have the opportunity to be seen and heard at this stage.

The Child Impact Report will include:

• Information about the family
• A photograph of the child/children
• What the child’s wishes and feelings are
• Information from people in the best place to help the court understand the needs of the child and their family
• Details of possible interventions
• A child impact analysis
• Recommendations as to what happens next and the child’s views on those recommendations

Intervention/Decision Hearings

Following receipt of the Child Impact Report, the court will set out what the next steps are.  These could include the family attending counselling or non-court dispute resolution, further investigation of safeguarding concerns or whether a decision hearing can take place. 

The Pathfinder Model puts significant emphasis on hearings being used to make decisions.  This is because, if all has gone to plan, all the relevant information will already be gathered meaning the court is better placed to make decisions as opposed to simply requiring further information.

The intention is that a final decision will be made at this first hearing wherever possible. 

Review

The court will then review the order between 3-12 months after it is made to see how it is working for the family.  The purpose of the review is not to determine whether the order has been stuck to by either party, but to assess whether the welfare needs of the child are being met in practice.

What are the benefits of the Pathfinder Model?

It’s hoped that this new approach to private law children cases will help to reduce the acrimony and confrontation that all too often come hand-in-hand with court proceedings, and to help families to find strategies for effective co-parenting.

Families already within Pathfinder have fed back that the process is much less brutal and unkind than the standard adversarial family law proceedings.  This has been helped by the process being much quicker – the early information gathering allows information to be collected on designated days rather than spreading it out – fewer delays and risks are being identified and dealt with much earlier.  In turn, this is helping judges find more time to deal with cases which do require a lot of judicial input. 

The introduction of the Pathfinder Model in Birmingham represents a significant change.If you have any questions as to how this new approach will work in practice or what it will mean for you and your family, contact one of our Birmingham family lawyers.