While one in four mothers in England and Wales, who appear in a first set of care proceedings, are likely to return to court for subsequent proceedings within 10 years, the probability increases to one in three among those who gave birth between the ages of 14 and 19, a new benchmark study published by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory finds.
Lisa Harker, director of Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, said is it “particularly worrying that a large majority of women involved in recurrent proceedings are teenagers”.
“They are likely to have a significant need for support; they will be poorly prepared for motherhood, both emotionally and financially, will have their own development needs, and might have been in care themselves,” she added.
The research also reveals that few babies involved in a parent’s first repeat of proceedings in England will ever return to their care, with 38.6 per cent of cases resulting in placement orders, indicating a plan for adoption, compared with just 12.7 per cent which resulted in supervision orders, typically made when children return to their parents’ care.
“The risk of mothers returning to court is higher if the first set of proceedings results in a plan for adoption. In these cases, 34 per cent of mothers in England and 31.1 per cent in Wales are likely to return within 10 years,” according to the report.
The study also warns that the likelihood of mothers experiencing recurrent care proceedings, with either a new baby or the same child, has not changed over the last decade, based on studies carried out in 2015, 2017 and 2020.
Meanwhile, “the actual number of mothers in recurrent proceedings has markedly increased since earlier studies, because more families are appearing in care proceedings,” it adds.
The report states that since the previous benchmark studies were carried out “a range of intensive, therapeutic preventative services have been developed for women who appear in recurrent care proceedings (and increasingly their male partners) to help them stabilise their lives, address histories of trauma, and engage with physical, sexual and mental health services”.
“Evaluations show these services have had a positive impact – however, there are relatively few of them available, access to them is unevenly spread, some have closed due to insufficient funding or budget cuts, and many have small teams providing support to only a limited number of women and men,” it adds.
Harker said: “This study indicates that vulnerable women – who have experienced the trauma of care proceedings, and in many cases the removal of their children – are still not being adequately supported to make positive changes and rebuild their lives.
“Despite almost a decade of research into recurrence and associated innovation in services, not enough has changed for these women. They are not even being given a fighting chance of avoiding further proceedings.”
The research comes days after latest figures from the Department for Education show that the number of children in care in England has reached a record high.
