What is the link between being care-experienced and young parents?

Children who enter foster care often experience hardship and challenges before, during and after they leave the care system.

Some of these young people become parents themselves, often in their late teens/early twenties, with studies showing that this is 2.5 times more likely among those who have lived in foster care compared to their non-care experienced peers.

Beacon Fostering seeks to ensure that children in care get the best start in life. Here are some things to know about the link between being care experienced and young parenthood.

Mothers whose babies are removed from their care

In a study by Nuffield Health, 40% of women who had children removed from them were care experienced. The women who participated in the research study came from troubled backgrounds, with 64% becoming mothers as teenagers and struggling to raise their young children due to their trauma and the lack of access to support networks.

While removing babies from women known to social services seeks is often done with the best intentions for mother and baby, the mothers often experience feelings of loss and grief.

The role of local authorities, services and charities

Many studies of care-experienced parents have shown that there is a lack of trust between them and social services. Since these parents often have no existing family networks, they have to rely on the ‘corporate parents’, which includes doctors, health care visitors and foster parents.

It’s said that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, and this could not be truer for care experienced parents. The studies have found that access to services and less judgement from others regarding care status are what will truly work to break cycles for future generations.

At Beacon Fostering, we are proud of our supportive community of foster carers. If you’d like to become part of this encouraging and compassionate network, get in touch today.