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Public law children cases (also known as care proceedings) are cases brought by local authorities seeking a court order to safeguard a child through care, supervision, or other measures. Many parents in these cases have mental health needs. Psychiatric assessment of a parent in care proceedings differs significantly from assessment in other contexts because the focus is narrowly on whether and how the parent’s mental health affects their capacity to parent safely and appropriately.
Permission to instruct a psychiatrist
In family proceedings, any expert (including a psychiatrist) must have the court’s permission to be instructed. Under Family Procedure Rules Part 25, permission to instruct an expert requires an application to the court. The court must be satisfied that expert evidence is necessary to resolve the issues in the case. For psychiatric evidence about a parent in a child protection case, the court must consider whether the evidence is proportionate and necessary for the determination of the child’s welfare.
Permission is usually granted where there is a genuine question about whether a parent’s mental health affects their parenting. Examples include:
- A parent with untreated schizophrenia whose consistency and reality-testing are in question
- A parent with severe depression and reduced capacity to engage in childcare
- A parent with personality disorder and questions about risk to a child
- A parent with substance dependence and concerns about supervision and response to emergencies
Permission would be refused if, for example, psychiatric evidence is not relevant to the welfare question or if the local authority and the parents’ representatives already agree on the relevant facts about the parent’s mental health.
The role of Cafcass and the children’s guardian
Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) is the statutory body that represents children’s interests in family court proceedings. In care proceedings, Cafcass appoints a children’s guardian to investigate the case, interview all parties, review evidence, and advise the court on what is in the child’s best interests. The children’s guardian is not the child’s lawyer (that role belongs to a children’s solicitor), but rather an advocate for the child’s welfare.
When psychiatric evidence about a parent is being considered, the children’s guardian will review it carefully. The guardian’s role is to test whether the expert’s opinion genuinely addresses the child’s welfare and whether the expert’s findings are reliable. If a psychiatrist’s evidence suggests a parent has capacity to parent safely despite mental health challenges, the guardian will want to understand the evidence for that conclusion. If the expert suggests serious risk, the guardian will consider that in their welfare analysis.
Cafcass may also instruct their own psychiatric expert in complex cases, or may argue that expert evidence is unnecessary because the issues are straightforward. Cafcass’s position (communicated in a Cafcass analysis and later in court) carries significant weight with judges.
Key questions the expert is asked to address
The psychiatric assessment of a parent in care proceedings is structured around a narrow, child-focused question: Does the parent’s mental health affect their capacity to parent this child safely and appropriately? This differs from a general psychiatric assessment; the expert is not providing general mental health treatment but answering a specific legal question.
Diagnosis and current mental state: What is the parent’s diagnosis, if any? Under ICD-11 or DSM-5, what symptoms are present? How severe are they? Is the condition active or in remission? Is the parent compliant with medication or therapy?
Impact on parenting capacity: This is the crux of the question. A parent with depression might still be capable of safe parenting, whereas a parent whose depression is so severe they cannot get out of bed, or who is having thoughts of self-harm, may not. The expert must explain the causal link between the condition and the specific aspects of parenting that matter:
- Can the parent remain alert and responsive to a child’s needs?
- Can they make consistent decisions in the child’s interest?
- Are they at risk of harm to the child (intentional or unintentional)?
- Can they maintain appropriate emotional boundaries?
- Can they access help and support if needed?
Treatability and prognosis: Is the condition treatable? Is the parent currently engaging with treatment? How likely is improvement? A parent with a treatable condition (such as depression responsive to medication and therapy) who is motivated to engage with treatment may have better prospects for safely parenting than a parent with an untreated or treatment-resistant condition. The expert will estimate what change is realistic with appropriate treatment.
Timescales for the child: This is often critical in care proceedings because the child’s needs are time-bound. If a child is a newborn in 2026, the courts recognise that a parent has a reasonable timescale (usually 12-18 months) to demonstrate change before the child’s long-term welfare plan must be finalised. If a parent’s recovery is likely to take several years, the expert will say so, and the court may decide the child cannot wait.
Supervision and support: Can the parent safely parent with supervision or support services? Or is the risk so significant that only care (where the child is removed from the parent’s home) can manage it? The expert may suggest intermediate arrangements (such as intensive family support, therapeutic parenting support, or supervised contact) and assess whether these would reduce risk to acceptable levels.
Legal Aid funding
Care proceedings are funded by Legal Aid. Both the parents (through their solicitor) and the local authority (through the legal department) have access to public funding. The children’s guardian’s solicitor also has access to public funding. This means there are usually adequate resources to instruct a psychiatric expert if the court approves.
However, funding is not unlimited. The Legal Aid Agency sets case budgets, and these include expert fees. Expert fees for a psychiatric assessment in a care case are typically within the Legal Aid framework rates. The instructing solicitor must obtain prior approval from the Legal Aid Agency before incurring the expert’s fees.
Single joint expert vs. separate experts
In many care cases, the court will direct a single joint expert, especially if both the parents and the local authority accept the need for expert evidence on the same issue. A single joint expert reduces cost (experts’ fees are paid once, not twice) and is seen as serving the child’s interests by providing impartial evidence. However, if the parents and local authority cannot agree on the expert’s instructions or the expert to be appointed, the court may permit separate expert evidence—one expert instructed by the parents, one by the local authority, and possibly a separate expert instructed by the children’s guardian.
The expert’s impartiality and duty
Like all experts in court proceedings, the psychiatrist has an overriding duty to the court and must comply with the relevant procedural rules (FPR Part 25). The expert is not there to support the parent or the local authority’s case; they are there to give honest, balanced opinion on the welfare question. A parent who hopes the psychiatric assessment will show they are well and capable may be disappointed if the assessment honestly reveals significant difficulties.
Key points
- Permission must be obtained from the court before a psychiatrist can be instructed in care proceedings; evidence must be necessary and proportionate
- The assessment focuses narrowly on whether a parent’s mental health affects their capacity to parent the particular child safely
- Cafcass (through the children’s guardian) will scrutinise psychiatric evidence and test its reliability
- Key questions address diagnosis, impact on parenting capacity, treatability and likelihood of recovery, and timescales for change
- Care proceedings are funded by Legal Aid, which pays for expert evidence if approved
- Single joint experts are common in care cases to provide impartial evidence and reduce costs
- The expert’s duty is to the court and the child’s welfare, not to the parent
Related: Find a medico-legal expert