UK: ‘Together a Chance’ - Evaluation of the Social Worker for Mothers in Prison pilot project

31st January 2024

Published in January 2024, ‘Together a Chance’ by the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE) is an evaluation of a three-year pilot scheme led by the Prison Advice and Case Trust (Pact) that placed social workers in two women’s prisons in England (HMP Eastwood Park and HMP Send). The pilot project intended to support and advocate for women whose children are involved with children’s social care in the originating local authority.

The report is based on 6-monthly questionnaires completed by prison-based social workers, and on interviews and surveys with mothers, prison staff, policymakers, and community practitioners involved with the scheme. Activity studies and case study documents were also analysed for the 94 mothers involved in the evaluation, which ran from April 2021 to December 2023. Below is a summary of the report's findings.

Support from Social Workers

The relationships between local authority Social Workers and mothers are often strained, antagonistic, or non-existent. Social Workers in the community often lack knowledge about the location of incarcerated mothers and how to contact them. The Pact Social Workers acted as a conduit of information between local authority practitioners and the prison establishment, and as mediators for mothers to support their engagement with social services. Prison staff reported that the trusting and supportive relationship the Pact Social Worker built with imprisoned mothers reduces suspicion and regains trust in Social Workers in the community.

All mothers involved in the pilot project reported being ‘very satisfied’ with their Pact Social Worker in follow-up surveys. 91% of mothers expressed that they felt supported by professionals within the prison, more so than by professionals outside.

Contact with Children

Among the 94 women involved, nearly half reported having no direct or indirect contact with their children at the start of the intervention. The Pact Social Workers helped mothers improve their engagement and communication with their children, and community practitioners reported that children were more settled due to the improved contact. Community practitioners noted several benefits for the children, and there was a general agreement that there had been no negative effects of the service. The Pact Social Workers were seen by mothers as being able to consider the needs of the child and the mother, demonstrating a child-focused plus approach. For 88% of mothers involved in the pilot project, contact issues were resolved in the best interests of the child. 

The pilot scheme demonstrated that mothers can, with the right support, continue to play a role in their children’s lives and be involved in decisions regarding their welfare where it is in the best interest of the child. For children where ongoing contact is not appropriate, skilled support in education and transparency with mothers had a positive impact on wellbeing. The feedback from mothers and community practitioners is that the role of the Social Worker is invaluable to both the incarcerated women and children.

Mental Health

Over one-third of the women had been subject to the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) planning process during their contact with the Pact Social Workers. Where the Pact Social Workers were involved in the multi-disciplinary ACCT meetings, findings suggest their role was effective. Narrative responses from those who reported Pact Social Worker involvement in ACCT were overwhelmingly positive. Pact Social Workers were able to quickly respond to child-related issues, directly or through liaison with the local authority Social Worker to alleviate maternal anxiety.

Evidence demonstrates that Pact Social Workers played a significant role in supporting women with their mental health and self-harm, most frequently relating to concerns about their children.

Recommendations

The report makes clear the need for prison-based Social Workers due to strained relationships between imprisoned mothers and community social workers, and lack of in-service support for women whose children are involved in children’s social care. The report offers an array of recommendations, including:

• Placement of Social Workers in all women’s prisons, alongside pro bono legal support. Prison-based Social Workers should routinely be involved in the multi-disciplinary ACCT process for mothers identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm and should provide support and training around domestic violence where it is not provided elsewhere within the institution. Clinal supervision from a qualified social worker with experience of both statutory children's social care and the prison service should be provided to all prison-based Social Workers.
• Increased emphasis placed on strengthening the links between women and services in the community, and on modes of communication between the prison and social services, so that mothers have more support while in prison and once released.
• Utilisation of the skills of mothers who participated in Together a Chance to encourage other women to access the service.
• Consideration to how the Pact Social Workers can best support the prison at a strategic level, by sharing knowledge and expertise more formally to enhance capacity building.

Read ‘Together a Chance’ report in full on the CASCADE website here.