A Child Arrangements Order (CAO) is a legal order given by a family court and usually lasts until the child turns 18 unless the court decides otherwise. A Child Arrangement Order can give you shared parental responsibility with the child’s birth parents and allow you to make day-to-day decisions about the child’s care. However, major decisions (e.g. moving abroad for more than 28 days) still require the consent of others with parental responsibility or a further court decision.

Sometimes the court asks the Local Authority to complete a report to help decide whether a Child Arrangements Order (CAO) should be granted. This may be carried out by the Safeguarding team rather than the Kinship team, depending on the circumstances. 

If there is no Local Authority involvement, The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) may step in. They can provide a Family Court Advisor (FCA) to independently advise the family courts about the arrangements that are most likely in the child's best interests. 

With valuable input we have developed a leaflet that outlines what a Child Arrangement Order is, the support available, useful contacts and some key questions you may have about the assessment. Click the button below to view this leaflet.