4.29 Supporting Children in Mother and Baby Units

1. Introduction

Mother and baby units (MBUs) are discrete specialist accommodation, within some prisons, for female prisoners with children up to age of 18 months or above, where appropriate. Governors or Directors of prisons which have MBUs have a duty of care to the child.

2. Assessment

When a woman applies for a place on a mother and baby unit (MBU), a referral for assessment must be requested by the prison from children’s social care in the mother’s home local authority at the earliest opportunity and must include information on MBU provision and policy. Any assessment should set out the needs of the child in relation to the mother’s application to be placed on an MBU.

The assessment should consider:

• suitability of the placement in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child, including the needs of the child and any risk;
• impact of the placement on the child’s development, health, and wellbeing;
• contact arrangements with the family and family network;
• suitability and arrangements for the child’s care if the placement is not granted, including within the family network through a kinship care arrangement.

The lead practitioner responsible for the assessment should attend the MBU Admissions Board to represent the best interests of the child. When placed in an MBU, the mother retains full parental responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child, and the local authority in which the prison is located is responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child.

The prison should actively engage children’s social care to ensure the relevant input into processes and individual cases. Practitioners should be provided with information on the purpose, facilities and support available on the MBU. Opportunities for practitioners to visit the MBU should be offered and encouraged.

Prisons must consult children’s social care on all MBU Board decisions, including decisions relating to a change in placement, and any other matters relevant to promoting the welfare and safeguarding a child.