For over 6 months, CFAB has been contracted by the Welsh Government to manage cross-border family and children casework, under the 1996 Hague Convention. Our expertise has been entrusted to ensure every Looked After Child in Wales has the potential to remain with family, and international placements are explored. It is a groundbreaking partnership that exemplifies the Welsh Government’s commitment to the safety and care of every child. One element of our partnership is the free legal advice that we can provide to all Welsh unitary authorities through our Legal Advice Service. This will help to ensure that every unitary authority is equipped with the support and guidance they need to ensure the best long-term outcomes for children.

In recent weeks, we have been pleased to work with the Welsh Government in their provision of support for Unaccompanied Minors arriving from Ukraine. We have agreed to support their scheme by offering the following:

• identity checks on Ukrainian children and related family members, via its Central Authority function
• verifying documents detailing who has parental responsibility for the children, via its Central Authority function
• pre-placement support for UK sponsors, in advance of Ukrainian child(ren) arrival, on understanding the trauma they may have experienced, basics of Ukrainian culture and how to identify and support children with mental, emotional or psychological support referrals
• wrap-around telephone support for sponsors and the individuals being hosted
• identification of family members overseas and support of planning and maintaining contact with family overseas

You can find out more here.

Looking ahead, we are very much looking forward to participating in the Welsh National Safeguarding Week in November and will be delivering two training sessions entitled International Regulations and Cross-border Placements: Key Messages from CFAB throughout the week. These sessions will be led by CFAB’s Fiona Robinson, Social Worker Service Manager and Maria Wright, Senior Legal Advisor.  We look forward to bringing you further details soon.

‍