Associate Family Court Adviser

Cafcass is seeking talented, passionate, and experienced social workers to join our national practice community as Associate Family Court Advisers (FCAs).

As self‑employed practitioners contracted by Cafcass, Associate FCAs play a key role in supporting our work with vulnerable children and young people, providing independent social work expertise to help families through some of the most challenging moments in their lives.

As an Associate FCA, you will be commissioned by local Cafcass teams across England to undertake public and private law family court work. You will contribute expert case analysis, provide recommendations in the best interests of children, and help manage caseload pressures while complementing the work of our employed practitioners.

Associates typically carry a mixed caseload, with thresholds set at 8 to 18 cases, ensuring workloads remain manageable and proportionate. There is also the opportunity to take on shorter‑term work such as writing Work to First Hearing safeguarding letters.

Becoming a Cafcass Associate is ideal for practitioners used to working independently and who want to maintain high‑level professional social work practice and shape their own workload. It allows you to combine working with Cafcass with other roles or commitments (e.g. ISW, IRO, lecturing, training, or other business interests) and obtain the balance needed to suit personal circumstances, while undertaking challenging, rewarding practice that makes a real difference to vulnerable children across England.

Cafcass currently contracts over 100 Associate FCAs, and with continued demand this number is expected to grow. Our dedicated Associates team provides onboarding and contract support to ensure effective collaboration with our commissioning teams. We also provide a professional induction to all new Associates, including access to specialist training and resources throughout your time as an Associate.

• Significant post‑qualifying experience
• Expertise in safeguarding, child engagement, and multi‑agency working
• Strong analytical, assessment, and recording skills
• Confidence working directly with families, professionals, and the family courts

As a self‑employed role, you will need to manage your own tax and contribution arrangements. Cafcass assesses that Associate FCA work is not within IR35.

We look forward to receiving your application, which we recommend includes a current CV to outline your relevant career history. We will review applications as we receive them and be in touch as soon as we can to advise if and how we intend to progress your interest in becoming an Associate FCA.