Infant removals: Working with families to prevent recurrent proceedings

In April 2023, Research in Practice, Pause and the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research held a seminar based on the work in the community of practice funded by Segelman Trust.

Building on the work from the supporting parents Community of Practice, this event brought together different forms of evidence that make a compelling case for providing specialist services for parents who have had children removed from their care.

Evaluation and impact studies show how these targeted services work to reduce the number of parents going through proceedings with successive children, while testimonies from parents who have drawn on such services illustrate how such support can be life changing.

Research in Practice has published an open access executive summary of the seminar alongside recordings of the presentations on the Supporting Parents website.

Preventing recurrent care proceedings: The case for change

Professor Karen Broadhurst (Centre for Child and Family Justice Research, Lancaster University) presented findings from the review she led which looked at the outcomes of 96,457 mothers in proceedings in England and Wales over the preceding ten years. The analysis showed that:

• One in four mothers are at risk of returning to court after their first set of proceedings.
• This likelihood of returning to court is highest for young mothers. Over 40% of mothers returning to court were aged 14-19 at the time of the first birth.
• The likelihood of returning to court is greatest in the first three years and increases after the first return to court.
• 83% (England) and 84% (Wales) of recurrent care cases concerned babies.
• There are significant regional differences in rates of recurrence: the North East, the Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West have the highest rates and London the lowest.

Population-level analysis shows the intersecting vulnerabilities experienced by parents who have more than one child removed by the state:

• The very young mothers involved in recurrent care proceedings are likely to go on to have more children.
• Care leavers are overrepresented in this cohort, raising the question of the responsibility of the state as ‘corporate grandparents’ to the children of care-experienced people.
• Motherhood is often a valued aspect of identify and source of social capital, particularly for women disenfranchised by other factors in their lives. When children are removed, for many mothers this is replaced by grief, loss, shame and stigma.
• Data shows clearly that statutory involvement in family lives tends to be concentrated in deprived and marginalised communities. This often has a negative impact on the relationship between citizens and the state, leading to distrust of services.

Despite the challenging picture presented in these statistics, evaluation evidence from specialist services working with parents shows positive change in a high proportion of cases. These services typically offer intensive support to stabilise parents, therapeutic help and support to engage with physical, sexual and mental health services. The message from the evidence base is that parents greatly benefit from specialist support services post-proceedings, leading to lower rates of recurrence.

Professor Broadhurst finished by asserting the need for expanded services, interdisciplinary working between agencies, and for national social policy to address the persistent issues of poverty and insecurity which erode protective factors and put pressure on families. One area for further research and service provision is the experience of fathers after proceedings.

Mothers with experience of targeted services

Karina Graham (Pause) recorded video interviews with two women who have been supported by services, April and Stacey-Ann. They discussed what the impact the services made in their lives and why they think this support should be made available to all parents.

Where would you have been without the support of the services?

How are these services different from others you have worked with?

The impact of services: Findings from evaluation

Ongoing evaluation work by organisations providing services and by research units illustrates cost-savings analysis and overarching trends from programme graduates.

Kate Tilley (Pause) spoke about the Department for Education funded evaluation of Pause (Boddy et al., 2020). This evaluation showed reduced numbers of babies coming into care, suggesting reduced costs to the public purse on top of the benefits for families that stay together. The number of infants entering care was reduced by an average of 14.4 children per year per local authority in areas with Pause. Pause estimates that for every £1 spent on the working with these parents, £4.50 is saved over four years, and £7.61 over 18 years.  The evaluation also showed improved relationships with birth parents for children already in the care system – this is difficult to put an economic cost against but has significant impact on people’s lives.

Claire Mason (Centre for Child and Family Justice Research, Lancaster University) shared findings from the national evidence base on targeted services for parents post-proceedings. Despite challenges in reconciling data from small local programmes and bigger national ones, the picture emerging from the data shows:

• Reduction in newborns in proceedings or entering care.
• Reduced number of parents who experience recurrent care proceedings. At the same time, wider societal and systemic factors have driven up the volume of care proceedings overall, and the availability of these services is by far not national or equitable.
• Increased access to and uptake of contraception.
• Improvements in wellbeing, housing stability, trust and engagement with other services.

The many sources of evidence discussed during the seminar make a clear argument for increased provision of specialist services for parents who have had their children removed by the state. The Community of Practice continues to support organisations across offering targeted services to develop their practice and stay abreast of key developments in evaluation and research. For more information or further resources on this topic, please visit the Supporting Parents site.