Vulnerable women in Dorset will benefit from a new scheme which supports them to develop new skills and responses that can help them create a more positive future.
Dorset Council has committed to a nationally evaluated programme, called Pause, which works with women who have experienced, or are at risk of, repeated pregnancies that result in their children needing to be removed from their care.
The programme aims to give women the opportunity to pause and take control of their lives, breaking a destructive cycle that causes both them and their children deep trauma.
There are women in every local authority in the UK with complex and challenging needs to whom many children are born but who are unfortunately subsequently removed into care. Dorset is no different.
Councillor Andrew Parry, Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills and Early Help, said: ‘This is absolutely not about judging people. We want Dorset to be a place where communities thrive and families are supported to be the best they can be.
‘It is incredibly traumatic for mothers and their children when they are separated, and we want to do all we can to support families to stay together.’
The mothers are typically disadvantaged and living with social, emotional, environmental and health related challenges. In Dorset:
- 84% have experienced domestic abuse;
- 75% have mental health issues (not necessarily diagnosed);
- 57% have issues with drug misuse; and
- 31% have issues with alcohol misuse.
Most shockingly, women who are eligible for Pause support are 36 times more likely to die earlier compared to women of the same age. This includes death as a result of suicide or domestic violence but also preventable or treatable physical illnesses.
Children who are removed into care are more likely to experience outcomes poorer than their peers including:
- poorer educational results;
- higher rates of criminality;
- sexual/criminal exploitation; substance misuse;
- suicide;
- poor mental health;
- become parents at a younger age and repeat the cycles of children into care.
Cllr Parry added: ‘The Pause programme has proven success in other parts of the country, both in terms of the emotional pain it avoids and financial savings because children do not have to be taken into care.
‘I look forward to working with other organisations in a partnership approach to make sure it has the same success here in Dorset.’
This sounds like an amazing scheme. I work as an independent advocate for parents with learning disabilities and only too often see the repercussions from repeated pregnancies followed by adoption or placement orders. I look forward to hearing further about how Dorset starts this off and how mothers can truly benefit from the help offered
This is very informative! Thank you so much for doing such a great job. keep sharing good content.
This sounds so positive. Where can I find more details/contacts for the scheme, please?