Evaluation of Pause

Résumé du livre

'Pause' is a voluntary programme in England for women at risk of repeat removals of children from their care. This evaluation report assesses the impact of the programme and its fiscal costs and benefits. It was conducted from 2015-2016 with 125 women across 7 pilot sites. Pause aims to reduce the number of children being removed into care by working with women who have previously had children removed to improve their wellbeing, resilience, and stability. It features an 18-month, individually-tailored, intensive package of support, and participants must use an effective form of reversible contraceptive for the duration of the programme. The program was developed in Hackney in 2013, and has now expanded to 6 other sites. Most sites work only with women who had had at least 2 children removed from their care, though one site worked only with women who had had one child removed. The evaluation investigated the model's effectiveness in reducing child removals, its impact on women's wellbeing and stability, its cost-effectiveness, and individual elements relate to its impact. Overall, the data suggests that Pause generally had a positive and significant impact on the women, many of whom had complex, multiple, and mutually-reinforcing needs.