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A prison sentence can be a huge upheaval not just for the person being incarcerated, but for their loved ones as well, particularly if children and childcare come into the mix. The Rest Advisory estimates that around 312,000 children in England and Wales have a parent in prison.
Parents in prison can still have contact with their children through phone calls, letters, emails and visits. In the UK, around 10,000 children a week visit a parent in prison. HMP YOI Cornton Vale, in Scotland, even allowed children and teenagers to stay with their mothers for occasional nights and weekends in specially built facilities, though it is unclear if this scheme is ongoing.
Childcare in prison
If you are pregnant and will give birth while you are in prison, you can keep your baby in prison with you until she/he is 18 months old, as long as it is deemed safe for you to so. You will live together in a mother and baby unit (MBU) meanwhile, where you will receive support from nursery workers and prison officers.
MBUs are registered with Ofsted to ensure that they provide a good standard of care to your child. This enables you to bond with your child, creating a lasting relationship that will hopefully continue and benefit both of you upon your release.
Any healthcare you receive while in prison is still funded by the NHS. Some prisons have their own hospitals, while others arrange for you to go to hospital externally.
UK prisons that currently have mother and baby childcare units:
- Askham Grange (North Yorkshire)
- Bronzefield (Surrey)
- Cornton Vale (Stirling)
- Eastwood Park (Gloucestershire)
- Hydebank Wood (Belfast)
- New Hall (West Yorkshire)
- Peterborough (Cambridgeshire)
- Styal (Cheshire)
Last year a reform was announced that bettered the care for pregnant prisoners and women with children aged under 2.
This reform aims to have a mother and baby specialist in every women’s prison in the UK, and to provide prison staff with extra training specifically for supporting pregnant prisoners.
The reform builds on the 2018 Female Offender Strategy that recognises that many women in prison (over 50%) have a history of substance abuse or have been domestically abused. The strategy outlines plans to enable more women (particularly those with children) to serve time through community orders, rather than in custody, when it is safe and appropriate to do so. It also envisages better access to treatments for the causes of their criminal behaviour.
Who will care for my children if I go to prison?
Parental responsibility means that you have the right to make decisions for your child and about their care, education and religious upbringing.
Birth mothers automatically still have parental responsibility for their child when they go to prison. Fathers have parental responsibility if they were married to the birth mother when the child was born, or married her afterwards. If your child was born on or after 1 December 2003, the father has parental responsibility as long as his name is on the birth certificate. If your child has another same-sex parent, they have parental responsibility as long as you were married or in a civil partnership when the child was conceived, and this conception was through assisted reproduction treatment that they consented to.
You can apply to keep them with you in a mother and baby unit when you go to prison, if you’re the child’s mother and he/she is under 18 months old when you go to prison. A Mother and Baby liaison officer will help with your application and a decision will be made by an admissions board, based on whether or not it is in the best interest of your child to live in the MBU with you.
If your child is 18 months or over
They can either stay with their other parent, a loved one or be taken into care by Social Services, if your child is 18 months old or over, or you don’t have them in an MBU with you for whatever reason,
If your child goes to stay with another family member or friend, they can get a child arrangements order through the court. If social services have had concerns about your parenting, this could be a special guardianship order instead. Both a child arrangements order and a special guardianship order give the person caring for the child parental responsibility while the order is in place. It does not take away your parental responsibility, so you both have a say in how the child is raised.
If you are going away for a long time and will not be there to raise your child, you could choose to have them adopted, either by a friend or family member, or someone who has applied to become an adoptive parent. While this can often be in the best interest of the child, it does end your parental responsibility.
Can I continue claiming Child Benefit while I’m in prison?
If you live in a mother and baby unit with your child, you can claim Child Benefit to help with costs of raising them. The prison itself with also supply some basic items free of charge.
If your child is living at home or with someone else while you are in prison, you can continue claiming their Child Benefit as long as you match this amount yourself.
You can have Child Benefit transferred to the person looking after your child while you’re in prison, or stop the payment and have them apply themselves. Only one person can claim at a time. The person caring for your child may also be able to claim Guardian’s Allowance.
Click here for more information on Child Benefit and current rates.
Helplines for advice on childcare in prison
Prisoners Advice Service
Legal advice and support
Telephone: 020 7253
Women in Prison
Advice about your time in and after prison
Telephone: 0800 953 0125
Rights of Women
Legal advice on family law
Family law advice telephone: 020 7251 6577
Immigration law advice telephone: 020 7490 7689
Hibiscus
Support for BAME or migrant women in prison
Telephone: 020 7697 4120
National Offenders’ Families Helpline
Support for families of prisoners
Telephone: 0808 808 2003
Family Rights Group
Support when social services are involved
Telephone: 0808 801 0366
