A new report from Barnardo's has found that parents who spent their own childhoods in care lack a vital support network to provide them with practical help and emotional guidance as they negotiate early parenthood.
Young people who grew up in care are around 2.5 times more likely to become pregnant in their teenage years than their peers. Many then find themselves living alone at a young age, often in poor quality housing with little practical or emotional support.
Through its work supporting young people, Barnardo’s has also seen that parents who grew up in care often do not have an extended network of family or friends around them, especially if they have moved to different areas throughout their lives. The charity says that this increases the risk of these new parents feeling lonely and isolated, as well as limiting their chances to seek help or advice as they face the challenges most new parents experience.
In its new report ‘Care-experienced Parents Unite for Change’, Barnardo’s is calling for the introduction of a statutory independent visitor or ‘buddy’ scheme. This would provide mentorship, informal support and advice for new parents up to the age of 25 who were raised by adults other than their biological parents and supported by social care. This would be part of the forthcoming reform of children’s social care for young people with experience of the care system, which is due to be announced by the Government in the coming days.
Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Lynn Perry MBE, said: “Young parents who have grown up in foster care or residential children’s homes often feel a strong drive to give their own children the best possible start in life.
“We know it takes a village to raise a child, but unfortunately parents who grew up in care often don’t have a support network around them. Yet with the right support, mums and dads who grew up in care can be amazing parents and powerful advocates for their children.
“The transition to parenthood can be difficult for many, but it can be particularly challenging for people who spent their own childhoods in care. It is crucial that the support parents are offered doesn’t follow a one-size-fits-all model and is tailored to an individual’s needs.”
The Barnardo’s report was informed by interviews with parents who grew up in care and shared their experiences with social services and the NHS during their pregnancies and early parenthood. This revealed that many of them felt judged and ashamed of their own circumstances, which was marring their interactions with agencies and authorities, including: antenatal support, health visiting and mental health services.
The report also found that poor interactions with health and social care teams in the past has deterred parents who grew up in care from seeking help and support, even at times of need due to the fear of stigma they expected to experience again.
Rosie Fortune, a former Barnardo’s project worker who supported young people who have been in care, went into care herself when she was 16 and lived in supported housing. At 20 years old, whilst she had support from a social worker to live independently, she found out that she and her partner were expecting a baby.
Rosie said: “When my social worker found out that I was pregnant, it felt like everyone just panicked, which created a lot of stress for me. I didn’t tell my midwife that I had a social worker through fear of being judged by my past. In fact, they never found out.
“I was so happy and excited when I found out that I was pregnant – this was my chance to have a purpose and to create my own little family through unconditional love. But, like lots of first-time parents feel, I was also very nervous.
“I must have missed out on so much support, but I was reluctant to ask for help. I was scared off after the questions they asked when they found out I was pregnant and the pre-parenting assessment I had to go through just because of my circumstances.
“Parents should feel able to trust the professionals they have contact with and to be open and honest about what they are going through so they can access the right help and support from maternity care to mental health support. There is no consistency and care experienced parents are simply not talked about or considered enough, which needs to change.”
In the new report, Barnardo’s is calling for the following provisions to benefit all young people who have grown up in care, including parents:
- The roll-out of the independent visitor scheme.
- Family hubs to be extended to cover every community in England. This would provide dedicated support for all parents, including those who grew up in care, by signposting them to local services based on their needs.
- Local provisions to help protect the mental health of parents who have grown up in care, who are more likely to need such support.
- The statutory responsibility to support children both in and leaving care to be extended beyond solely local councils to include authorities, such as the police and NHS, so various types of support are easily accessible.
The Barnardo’s report can be found here.