The Pause Project, a project aimed at reducing the number of children taken into care by offering support to vulnerable women is to extend its work across England. The project works with women who have experienced, or are at risk of, repeat removals of children from their care. It aims to break this cycle and give women the opportunity to develop new skills and responses that can help them create a more positive future.
The Pause project, which began in London in 2013, is to receive a further £6.8m of funding from the government.
In 2015, almost 13,000 children were taken into care across England. Sophie Humphreys, the chief executive of Pause, says the project is about giving women "a really clear space which doesn't get sabotaged by another pregnancy". She added, "This is pause, not stop. It's about breaking a destructive cycle that causes deep trauma for both the women and their children.” Pause now plans to work with up to 3,000 women over the six years of the programme.
The Pause programme began in Hackney in 2013 and has been trialled in other parts of London as well as Doncaster, Hull and Newcastle. Pause has been awarded £6.8m by the Department for Education and will be launching new practices in 2017 in Barking & Dagenham, Bristol, Cumbria, Derby, North East Lincolnshire, Slough, St Helens, West Sussex and Wiltshire. It will also pilot a preventative programme for care leavers aged 18 to 25.
We welcome this move by the Government to extend the funding for this successful and innovative project. At Ramsdens LLP we hope to see the Project being rolled out in areas across West Yorkshire in order to help the increasing numbers of vulnerable women in the area.
Should you require family law advice on any number of family law issues contact our family team on 08000 147720, email family@ramsdens.co.uk or text LAW to 67777 to arrange a free thirty minute appointment in any of our twelve offices across West Yorkshire.