CYP Now - Teenage mothers at high risk of recurrent care proceedings, research warns

A lack of support for teenage mothers who are involved in care proceedings after giving birth to their first child means they are more likely to repeat the experience with subsequent children than older parents, new research finds.

Young mothers have a 'significant need for support', researchers say. Picture: Adobe Stock/Анастасия Амраева

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.

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