Cafcass's duty is to safeguard and promote the welfare of children going through the family justice system. Their experienced Family Court Advisers may be asked by the court to work with families and then advise the court on what they consider to be the best interests of the children involved in three main areas:

• divorce and separation, sometimes called ‘private law’, where parents or carers can’t agree on arrangements for their children
• care proceedings, sometimes called ‘public law’, where social services have serious concerns about the safety or welfare of a child
• adoption, which can be either public or private law.