Advancing Child-Centered Practice: Cafcass Cymru’s New Domestic Abuse Practice Guidance Suite
By the Safe & Together Institute Team
The Safe & Together Institute is pleased to highlight the important work of Cafcass Cymru in developing comprehensive practice guidance that centers child safety and well-being in cases involving domestic abuse. The recent publication of Cafcass Cymru’s Domestic Abuse Practice Guidance suite represents a crucial advancement in how family court practitioners understand, assess, and respond to the complex dynamics of domestic abuse and its profound impact on children and families.
Understanding the Lasting Impact
Domestic abuse leaves lasting imprints on both children and adults, often manifesting in ways that extend far beyond the immediate physical harm. Cafcass Cymru’s new guidance suite recognizes this reality by providing practitioners with the knowledge and tools necessary to accurately assess these enduring effects on well-being and safety.
The guidance acknowledges that domestic abuse is not simply an incident or series of incidents but rather a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviors that fundamentally alter family dynamics and child development. By equipping practitioners with domestic abuse-based information and theory, the guidance ensures that assessments and interventions are grounded in evidence-based understanding rather than assumptions or misconceptions.
A Needs-Led, Trauma-Informed Approach
What sets this guidance apart is its commitment to being needs-led in work with families and children. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach, practitioners are encouraged to focus on the specific needs, circumstances, and experiences of each family while maintaining a clear focus on child safety and well-being.
The guidance emphasizes three critical elements of effective practice:
Investigative Approach: Practitioners are encouraged to dig deeper, asking the right questions and gathering comprehensive information about family dynamics, patterns of behavior, and the specific ways domestic abuse has impacted each family member.
Objective Assessment: The guidance supports practitioners in maintaining professional objectivity while remaining attuned to the complex realities families face, ensuring that assessments are fair, thorough, and evidence-based.
Empathetic Engagement: Recognizing that families experiencing domestic abuse often face judgment and blame, the guidance emphasizes the importance of empathetic practice that validates experiences while maintaining focus on safety and protection.
Behaviors and Impact: The Heart of Assessment
Central to the guidance is its focus on behaviors and their impact in relation to child well-being, risk of harm, and safety. This behavioral focus aligns with the Safe & Together Model’s emphasis on understanding how perpetrator behavior patterns affect parenting, partnerships, and children’s experiences.
By centering behavior rather than labels or categories, practitioners can more accurately assess:
How specific behaviors impact children’s safety and well-being
The ways domestic abuse interferes with protective parenting
The resources and interventions needed to enhance safety and support recovery
Reflective Practice and Professional Development
The guidance suite includes reflective questions and opportunities for practitioners to examine and develop their own practice in relation to domestic abuse. This emphasis on reflective practice ensures that learning is ongoing and that practitioners continue to refine their skills and understanding over time.
The inclusion of best practice pointers and recommendations for further reading demonstrates Cafcass Cymru’s commitment to evidence-based practice and continuous professional development. This approach recognizes that effective domestic abuse practice requires ongoing learning and skill development.
Collaborative Practice
The guidance is underpinned by trauma-informed practice principles and draws upon established methodologies—like the Safe & Together Model—that emphasize collaboration between child welfare systems and domestic violence services. This approach recognizes that effective responses to domestic abuse require coordinated efforts across multiple systems and disciplines.
This partnership approach ensures that:
Perpetrators are held accountable for their behavior and its impact on children
Non-offending parents are supported in their protective capacities
Children’s voices and experiences are centered in decision-making
Interventions are tailored to address the specific ways domestic abuse has impacted each family
Looking Forward
The publication of this comprehensive guidance suite represents more than just new documentation—it signals a commitment to transforming practice in ways that better serve children and families affected by domestic abuse. By providing practitioners with robust theoretical foundations, practical tools, and reflective frameworks, Cafcass Cymru is positioning itself to deliver more effective, trauma-informed services.
For practitioners working in family courts and child welfare systems, this guidance offers a valuable resource for enhancing practice. For families experiencing domestic abuse, it represents hope for more informed, empathetic, and effective support from the professionals working with them.
The Safe & Together Institute commends Cafcass Cymru for this important contribution to the field and looks forward to seeing the positive impact this guidance will have on practice and, ultimately, on the safety and wellbeing of children and families in Wales.
Additional Resources
David Mandel’s book Stop Blaming Mothers and Ignoring Fathers: How to Transform the Way We Keep Children Safe from Domestic Violence
Safe & Together Institute’s domestic abuse–informed trainings
Safe & Together Institute’s upcoming events
