Removal of a baby at, or near, birth is probably the most difficult decision that professionals can make to intervene in family life and is highly distressing for birth mothers, birth fathers and wider family networks. It is important to understand more about the circumstances in which removal of babies shortly after birth takes place in Scotland, including the significance of pre-birth assessments, the work undertaken with parents to prevent separation where possible, and children's pathways and permanence outcomes.

Helen and Linda will be presenting the findings of the Born into Care (Scotland) Study which was published in April 2022.https://www.gov.scot/publications/born-care-scotland-circumstances-recurrence-pathways/

Dr Helen Whincup, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Stirling. Helen qualified as a social worker in 1991 and worked alongside children, young people and their families in statutory and voluntary settings. Helen joined the University of Stirling in 2008, primarily teaching on the Pg Certificate in Applied Professional Studies (Child Welfare and Protection).

Helen leads the study Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland. This longitudinal study is exploring the pathways and outcomes for 1,836 children who became looked after in 2012-2013 when they were five or under and is currently in Phase 2 (2020-2024). For Phase 1 reports and more information:https://permanentlyprogressing.stir.ac.uk/

Dr Linda Cusworth is a research fellow in the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research at Lancaster University (https://www.cfj-lancaster.org.uk/). With almost twenty years’ experience in research relating to child well-being, improving child outcomes for vulnerable children and young people, child protection, looked after children, and the experiences, pathways and outcomes for individuals involved in the family justice system, Linda has a passion for the use of administrative data and data linkage in family justice research, and the translation of evidence into policy and practice. As well as leading the Born into Care (Scotland) project for Scottish Government, Linda is the lead researcher on the Family Justice Data Partnership for the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, whose research has included the Born into Care and Uncovering Private Family Law series. Linda is also involved in Permanently Progressing?, a longitudinal study of all children who became looked after in Scotland in 2012-13 when they were aged five or under.

Ariane and Maggie will present their findings from the Supporting Roots project, which included interviews with birth mothers and gathered information from practitioners to explore current support for birth parents in Scotland. She will share findings from birth mothers’ perspectives on their experiences of support.

The link for the newly published Supporting Roots report is here:https://www.gov.scot/publications/supporting-roots/#:~:text=The%20Supporting%20Roots%20project%20and%20the%20report%20that%20follows%20are,throughout%20their%20childhoods%20and%20beyond.

Ariane Critchley is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Stirling, where she is Pathway Lead for the Pg. Certificate Applied Professional Studies (Child Welfare & Protection) in the Applied Professional Studies programme. Ariane has undertaken research in relation to pre-birth child protection practice, and in relation to the separation of children from their birth families through child welfare interventions. She is interested in the way that child welfare systems meet families in the period around pregnancy and birth, in how infants and young children are understood in this context, and in the impacts of family separation on children and their birth relatives in the short and long term. Ariane has over 26 years’ experience in the field of social care and social work and after qualifying as a social worker worked for a decade in the field of child welfare and protection, prior to becoming involved in research.

Maggie Grant is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection, University of Stirling. She also teaches on the qualifying social work programmes at University of Stirling and until recently was the research lead at the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption. Her research focuses mainly on care experienced children and young people and their families, and the people, organisations and systems that they come into contact with. She’s worked in research in this area for 15 years, including studies on midlife outcomes for adopted people, adoption support, kinship care during the pandemic, maltreatment in foster care and support for separated and trafficked children. Her current research includes Permanently Progressing?, a longitudinal study following up all children who became looked after age 5 or under in Scotland in 2012-2013.

Presenting Born into Care (Scotland) Study and Supporting Roots Project.