Transforming Communication for Better Child and Family Support with Cafcass

Reducing manual workload and improving inclusivity with AI-supported communication 

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), an organisation that represents the interests of children and young people in family court proceedings in England, partnered with us to transform communication strategies and improve engagement with children and families. 

Cafcass sought an innovative solution to revolutionise how Family Court Advisors (FCAs) generate and personalise letters, ensuring clarity and accessibility for diverse audiences, including neurodiverse children and those with language barriers. 

With 1,500 FCAs producing 80,000 letters monthly across 100+ templates, manual editing was time-consuming and inefficient, diverting focus from supporting families. Standardised letters often lacked clarity, particularly for children, leading to potential misunderstandings and disengagement. 

ChildFirst, their current system, faced technical challenges that prevented Family Court Advisors (FCAs) from effectively using the stored data. As a result, FCAs had to manually edit templates, which was both inefficient and time-consuming. Cafcass made it clear in their brief: the AI’s purpose was not to write letters to children, but to offer crucial time-saving support to FCAs preparing those letters.  FCAs also had no tools to adjust language complexity based on a child’s comprehension level, further complicating communication and restricting engagement. 

To address these challenges, we collaborated to develop Scribe, a proof of concept using Microsoft Azure AI services within their ChildFirst system. This solution assists FCAs in creating hyper-personalised, accessible letters while maintaining human oversight at every step. 

Scribe integrates advanced algorithms to tailor letters based on each child’s profile, developmental stage, and language needs.