Blog: Family Connections
PRT Associate Sarah Beresford describes how the Child Impact Assessment framework works in practice.
Published by the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) in December 2022, “This is me” is a toolkit of resources to support children with a parent in the justice system. The toolkit demonstrates how a Child Impact Assessment framework can ensure children get the support they need at the earliest opportunity. “This is me” was developed with children and young people between the ages of five and 19 with experience of having a mother in the justice system. Through focus groups and questionnaires, they were able to articulate what they wanted. They said:
They do not want another report with yet more recommendations; they want action.
They want to be seen, listened to, and considered at all stages of their mother’s journey through the justice system: arrest, court and sentencing, prison or community sentence, and prior to her release. They want to be supported, and they want to be included in decisions about that support. Child Impact Assessments aim to do exactly that, and the framework has been adapted for use with children whose fathers are in the justice system.
Funded by the Dulverton Trust, I am leading the dissemination and implementation phases of the toolkit. I am providing training and support to a wide range of statutory and voluntary sector practitioners on using the resources within “This is me” with individual children. In addition, I am supporting several UK-wide pilot projects to embed, and evaluate, the use of the Child Impact Assessment framework within existing processes. The framework is being used in a variety of contexts, and the feedback is positive.
“Just to have someone listen to me after watching my mum being arrested made a massive difference.”
Kayden* (aged 15)
For Ariah* (aged 10), it was knowing she was not the only child with a mum in prison that helped. The Child Impact Assessment was instrumental in ensuring Connor* (aged 11) and Orla* (aged 13) knew what to expect when their mum was released from custody: “It helped that we could talk about the things we were worried about.”
As previously demonstrated through a blog, published by PRT in August 2023, Child Impact Assessments can be helpful at sentencing. The blog tells Steph’s* story. Her children were eight and 13, and they each completed a Child Impact Assessment with their social worker. These were submitted alongside the Pre-Sentence Report (PSR), and Steph received a non-custodial sentence, rather than the time in prison she had been expecting and fearing. Steph continues to receive support in the community, as do her children, and the family has stayed well connected with each other and with support agencies.
Since embarking on the implementation phase of this work, I have been asked multiple times about the use of Child Impact Assessments with very young children and babies and children with special needs who have limited, or no, language. As a framework of support, Child Impact Assessments were designed to be used as flexibly as needed to hear the voices of children and ensure these voices are considered in decision-making processes. But how does this work in practice when children are unable to put their thoughts and feelings into words?
In January 2024, I was invited to attend a Family Connections project team meeting to discuss exactly this. Developed by Emma Conduct from Kent Surrey and Sussex Probation Service in partnership with The Maslow Foundation, and Sussex Prisoners’ Families, the project’s aims include:
- Deploying practitioners with the specialist skills needed to work with women during a PSR adjournment period. This will ensure the impact on children is given greater prominence in PSRs and is more likely to be considered in sentencing decisions.
- Strengthening the PSR process by integrating the use of Child Impact Assessments to provide sentencers with as full a picture as possible of the impact of a custodial sentence on a mother’s children.
- Ensuring support for women and their children is provided at the earliest opportunity.
The team was discussing the case of Annie*, the sole and primary carer of Harlow* (aged three) and had questions around how to undertake a Child Impact Assessment with such a young child. As in Steph’s story, it was clear that there were very positive relationships between Annie and the practitioners supporting her as well as very effective inter-agency partnerships; each knew their role and had the best interests of Annie and Harlow at heart. They wanted full consideration of Harlow’s needs to be considered by the court and were taking a gentle, kind, and holistic approach to their support for Annie and Harlow.
As well as Harlow’s social worker and the Sussex Prisoners’ family worker, it was felt nursery staff caring for Harlow would have an important input into the Child Impact Assessment. While the questions provided in the framework are not designed for children so young (or for those who may have limited, or no, language), the spirit of the questions (gaining an insight into how a child is feeling, what support might help them, and who is best placed to offer that support) can be encapsulated if a creative approach is taken. Nursery staff can use observation, craft activities, and very simple conversation to gain an understanding about a child’s relationship with a parent.
“Even tiny babies can tell you how they are feeling. Midwives and health visitors can understand what babies are saying from their body language, the way they cry (or don’t). It’s about putting yourself in that baby’s world and looking at all that’s going on around them. For any child who hasn’t developed speech, or doesn’t have the vocabulary to describe their feelings, there is an added responsibility for the person completing a Child Impact Assessment to look much further than the child – to look at the relationships they have and their non-verbal cues of behaviours and attachments.”
Professor June Keeling from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Keele University
With in-depth insights from the social worker, Sussex Prisoners’ family worker, the nursery manager and Harlow’s nursery teacher, as well as some quotes from Harlow herself gathered from nursery activities (“I like doing things with mummy like walks, swings, farm and holidays.”), the Child Impact Assessment presented a comprehensive picture of a happy, secure child with a strong and healthy attachment to her sole carer. A prison sentence would not only be devastating for Annie’s outcomes (we know that prison does not work when it comes to addressing women’s needs), such a disruption would also have a lasting impact on Harlow’s emotional wellbeing and attachment development. The Child Impact Assessment was submitted to the court alongside the PSR, and Annie received an eight-month Suspended Sentence Order.
“The Child Impact Assessment was very useful, and it is clear that there is a lot of love between mother and daughter and that Annie is a good mum to Harlow.”
The Judge
This is not the end of Annie and Harlow’s story; they will continue to be supported by a team of dedicated, hardworking practitioners who are committed to ensuring the best interests of mothers and their children are considered by the court and their needs met in the community. Nor is it the end of the work on PSRs and Child Impact Assessments, for there is much still to do. As Emma Conduct has explored through qualitative research (publication forthcoming) with PSR authors, PSRs are sometimes written in a way which may not highlight women’s dependents and caregiving responsibilities in sufficient detail for sentencers to carry out the balancing exercise, even if they are willing to do so. Discussing and exploring alternative carers for children should be a significant element of a PSR; the findings of Emma’s research show PSR authors are struggling to accomplish this.
Furthermore, there will be no Child Impact Assessment submitted in most cases; this is despite the fact the UK has ratified the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders 2010 (known as the Bangkok Rules), which state that non-custodial sentences are preferable for women with dependent children and that, if a custodial sentence is absolutely necessary, this should only be given after considering the best interests of the child and ensuring that appropriate provision has been made for the child.
The Family Connections project is still in its infancy, but it is already changing lives. As Vanessa Webb, Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Maslow Foundation, says, “We were delighted about this positive outcome for Annie and Harlow and hope it serves as a powerful model for other families as our project develops.” I for one look forward to hearing about more families receiving excellent interagency support like Family Connections provides and am hopeful that, through initiatives like this, fewer children will suffer the loss of a mother to prison.
*Names have been changed
This blog was first published in the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Probation Service sentencer newsletter on 1 March and is published here with permission.
