WTITTEN EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY FOR THE BABY’S SAKE TRUST

(CSC0009)

Legal Framework

The right to liberty and security, Article 5 ECHR

Findings show that on average 48,067 babies are referred to children’s social care in England with domestic abuse as a factor [Source: The For Baby’s Sake Trust, FOI Request]. However, reporting systems are outdated and vague: domestic abuse is being categorised within broad terms such as “abuse” or “family dysfunction,” masking the scale of the impact on babies and children. This is a neglect of recording duties, as it does not allow for full recognition of the security risks facing babies and children being placed into the care system. We suggest that there needs to be a review of how agencies record safeguarding risks and abusive behaviour, so that the figures are not misrepresented and the nature of domestic abuse can be comprehensively understood.

Another significant concern is the absence of children’s voices in social care proceedings. When decisions are made that directly affect a child’s life, it should be a mandatory practice to consult them meaningfully. Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) affirms every child’s right to be heard and taken seriously in matters that impact them. This principle is echoed in national legislation and guidance, including the Children Act 1989.

However, due to overstretched services and limited resources, this vital requirement is often overlooked. It is essential to implement robust measures that ensure every child - regardless of age or ability - is given the opportunity to express their views, wishes, and feelings.

For babies, tools such as the Newborn Behavioural Observations (NBO) System or Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) can be used to interpret their needs, vulnerabilities, and responses. Similarly, adaptive communication methods should be employed for children with disabilities and/or special educational needs (SEND). Crucially, all communication must be trauma-informed and culturally sensitive, creating a safe space where children feel empowered to express themselves fully and authentically.

The protection against discrimination in the enjoyment of Convention rights, Article 14 ECHR

We also support the growing recognition of care experience as a protected characteristic under UK law, and we welcome that many local authorities have already adopted this approach. Given the links between care experience, increased vulnerability to harm, and impacted outcomes, this development will allow these young people to be protected from further harm and prejudices based on their experiences. This also extends to alternative forms of care experience, such as kinship care, adoption, child refugees, and young offenders in custody.

Kinship care

While kinship care generally promotes better outcomes for children than those in local authority care, there are still significant gaps when compared to the wider population [Source: Kinship]. There are many factors which contribute to the cycle of domestic abuse which may impact on kinship care families:

• Lack of mental health support
• No support for the long-term effects of trauma faced by children prior to kinship care
• Little understanding of the SEND needs of children who have faced developmental/ complex trauma
• High rates of neurodivergency in children being raised in kinship care, with no adjustments to fit their needs

• The widespread poverty of kinship care families
• The lack of consistent, substantial and non-means-tested financial support for families
• High kinship care prevalence in the most deprived areas of the country

• The lack of long-term support from children’s social care
• Regarding ongoing contact with birth parents
• Regarding the suitability of the placement for the whole family
• Regarding the practical and financial needs of the family

• Oversights when making the placement decision
• Pre-existing intergenerational trauma within families
• The likelihood of kinship care experienced young people becoming young carers for elderly kinship carers or becoming bereaved
• Lack of consideration for the housing and financial situations of kinship carers, especially those caring for multiple children; this can lead to overcrowding and unsuitable conditions

The challenges for informal kinship care are twofold, as these arrangements are rarely supported by local authorities. The informal arrangement may have been created due to a mistrust of agencies, which would signal a need for sensitivity and an understanding of the vulnerability of the family.

The government’s reduction of the Adoption and Special Guardianship fund – which allowed some kinship carers to access therapeutic support for their child – is a serious concern. In order to break the cycle of domestic abuse, children in the social care system must have holistic, trauma-informed mental health support readily available. This should also extend to all kinship care arrangements, regardless of legal order (or lack thereof), and would ideally be provided for all family members involved individually.

Combined with the already sparse support for kinship families, there is an alarming lack of foundational support for kinship care experienced young people moving into adulthood. There is no equivalent of ‘care leavers’ support for those leaving kinship care. Some kinship care experienced young people are not financially, emotionally or practically supported by their carers into adulthood, especially due to the end of child support payments at 18. Additionally, kinship care experienced young people are more likely to be NEET [Source: Kinship]. This makes them more vulnerable to exploitative, coercive and abusive relationships. The government has a duty to protect the security of these young people beyond the age of 18, by providing housing, financial, educational, and mental health support.

Criminal Justice

For Baby's Sake works with parents who are in the criminal justice system, specifically those using abusive behaviours. Exposure to four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is associated with significantly increased long-term risks to physical, mental, and emotional health, wellbeing, and socio-economic and behavioural outcomes in adulthood, along with risks of intergenerational transmission of trauma once the adults become parents. In a UK study on ACEs (Bellis et al, 2014), 9% of the population were found to have four or more ACEs. By contrast 87% of our mothers and fathers who engaged with For Baby’s Sake during the year experienced four or more adverse childhood experiences.

We also work with high rates of care-experienced parents, as high as 1 in 4 in Blackpool; our pilot programme My Future Me is designed to work with this cohort. Children exposed to domestic abuse are more likely to experience abuse or be abusive as adults. This means that those who have entered the care system have a likelihood to copy harmful patterns they experienced growing up and subsequently enter the criminal justice system.

Data suggests that over 185,000 babies are present at police call outs for domestic abuse incidents each year in England [Source: The For Baby’s Sake Trust, FOI Request]. This suggests that around 13% of incidents during this period involve an infant being present. When considering the impacts of domestic abuse on babies – including emotional and physical development, as well as tthe increased risk of exposure to abuse in adulthood – this indicates the urgent need for preventative and trauma-informed care for those who have experienced domestic abuse, including those in the care system.

We echo the findings of the Youth Justice Legal Centre, which illustrates how young people in the children’s social care system are more likely to be criminalised for numerous reasons:

• They are more likely to be put in situations where they come into contact with the police
• They are subject to additional restrictions and requirements in care settings
• They are more likely to have experienced trauma and adverse experiences than other children
• They may be targeted by criminal gangs, and may be victims of child criminal exploitation
• They generally have less support in place, especially during transition to adulthood
• They may be seen as more mature than their actual age and elicit less sympathy from professionals and harsher responses from the criminal justice system
• They experience intersectional disadvantage
• Black, Brown and racialised children are over-represented amongst those in care.
• Care experienced girls are 25 times more likely to receive a custodial sentence than children who have not been in care.

These elements must be recognised to understand the full picture of care experienced people’s overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. The full report can be found here: Dare to Care: Representing care experienced young people

Good practice

One of the key changes we recommend promoting the security of those in the children’s social care sector is investing in preventative, rather than reactive, interventions. If those in the children's social care sector were given long-term, trauma-informed support to work through the abuse they have experienced, this would reduce the impact of them being impacted by abuse in future relationships. In turn, this would prevent more babies and children from entering the system.

Our CEO, Lauren Seager-Smith, spoke about the most effective and sensible approach to tackling domestic abuse nationally during this podcast: Season 6 Episode 8: The Preven… - Partnered with a Survivor: David Mandel and Ruth Reymundo Mandel - Apple Podcasts

Recommendations

To ensure the right to security of children in the social care system, those leaving the system, and those at risk of entering the system, we recommend:

• Better recognition and recording of patterns of violence, coercion and control as domestic abuse during intervention by social services and other agencies

• Ensuring to centre a child’s voice in all decisions affecting their future

• Care experience (in all its forms) being recognised as a protected characteristic on a national level

• A comprehensive review into the state of kinship care: support for those being raised in kinship care; their carers; their birth parents; and those leaving kinship care. This must include lived experience expertise and recognise the specific challenges of informal kinship care

• The renewal of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Fund, as well as its extension to all types of kinship family arrangements

• Embedding trauma-informed care and ACE-awareness into the social care system, especially for those in contact with the criminal justice system, mental health services, and substance misuse services

• Funding specialist, therapeutic programmes that work with care experienced young people and adults, like For Baby’s Sake and My Future Me, which supports them to address trauma, develop emotional regulation, and break cycles of abuse and neglect

• Ensuring the VAWG strategy recognises the vulnerability of the security of young women and girls in the social care system to violence and domestic abuse

• Creating a strategy on Violence Against Men and Boys which similarly acknowledges the vulnerability of the security of young men and boys in the social care system to violence and domestic abuse

• Ensuring any changes made to the system align with the Best Start in Life strategy and 10-Year NHS Plan, prioritising whole-family, trauma-informed early interventions to prevent children entering the social care system

Increasing the security of children in and after the social care system must include a comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence-informed approach to practical support, domestic abuse prevention, and mental health.

(Aug 2025)