In this Working Paper, Kirsty Kitchen discusses the overlooked overlap between the criminal justice system and children’s social care, focusing on pregnant women and mothers of infants.
She highlights how dual contact – simultaneous involvement in both systems – often results in trauma, disruption of maternal bonds, and long-term adverse outcomes for children, particularly in their first 1001 days.
She writes:
If the government is to be able to keep families safely together, and break down the barriers to children having the best possible start in life, we need a radical shift in the ways that children’s social care and the CJS – police, courts, prisons and probation – work together around pregnant women and mothers of infants.
Kitchen calls for a multi-agency shift in approach. Key recommendations include introducing a mandatory '1001 days impact assessment' in all pre-sentence reports, prioritising diversion and deferred sentencing, and establishing a probation policy framework responsive to pregnancy and early motherhood.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies’ working paper series publishes research and analysis of an exploratory nature. Working papers are not formally peer-reviewed, but are intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on current and relevant areas.
