WOMEN in Dorset who are vulnerable to having their children placed in care will be helped as part of a new scheme launched by council bosses – by helping them develop new skills to shape more positive lives.

Dorset Council has committed to a nationally evaluated programme, called Pause, which works with women who have experienced, or are at risk of, repeated pregnancies that result in their children needing to be removed from their care.

The programme aims to give women the opportunity to pause and take control of their lives, breaking a cycle that causes both them and their children deep trauma.

Councillor Andrew Parry, Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills and Early Help, said: “This is absolutely not about judging people. We want Dorset to be a place where communities thrive, and families are supported to be the best they can be.

“It is incredibly traumatic for mothers and their children when they are separated, and we want to do all we can to support families to stay together.”

According to Dorset Council the mothers are typically disadvantaged and living with social, emotional, environmental and health related challenges.

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Of these, and in Dorset alone, 84% have experienced domestic abuse, 75% have mental health issues (not necessarily diagnosed), 57% have issues with drug misuse, and 31% have issues with alcohol misuse.

Dorset Council also report that women who are eligible for Pause support are 36 times more likely to due earlier compared to women of the same age. This includes death as a result of suicide or domestic violence and preventable or treatable physical illnesses.

Cllr Parry added: “The Pause programme has proven success in other parts of the country, both in terms of the emotional pain it avoids and financial savings because children do not have to be taken into care.

“I look forward to working with other organisations in a partnership approach to make sure it has the same success here in Dorset.”

Children who are taken into care are more likely to experience outcomes poorer than their peers including poorer educational results, higher rates of criminality, sexual/criminal exploitation, substance misuse, suicide, poor mental health, become parents at a younger age and repeat the cycles of children into care.

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