Being or becoming a parent
Being pregnant or having a child is a huge adventure, but it’s something that is always tough - everyone needs support, reassurance, information and advice as a new parent. There is lots of support out in the community to help you with this, but Calderdale Pathways wanted to go a step further and develop something just for you.
In partnership with Calderdale Independent Visitor & Volunteer Service we have created a project that will recruit and train volunteers from the community to become parenting mentors. They are experienced parents who care and want to help out during those challenging but wonderful early years of your child’s life. They will be independent of children’s services and social care and are there for you and your baby. They will come and have a cup of tea with you, attend baby groups with you, give you tips from their experience and listen when you need to talk. We are in the early stages of developing this but it’s an exciting new development.
Parenting grant
We also provide up to £200 to spend on furnishings and additional equipment needed for when your first child arrives. If this is not enough for your particular situation, then please speak with your PA and they can discuss with the management team to look at additional financial support.
Other organisations across Halifax also offer lots of support, groups and help when it is needed.
Positive choices
The Positive Choices programme starts with the belief that, with the right support, our young people can be safe, successful parents now and in the future. The programme supports young parents who are care or social care-experienced to prevent their children coming into care.
Your PA can make a referral for you should you need this extra form of support. See: Positive Choices.
For other useful links and services, see: Support for parents and carers.
Custody
If for any reason you are in custody or serving time in prison, your support from us will not stop. We will keep in touch, visit and complete pathway plan reviews with you up to 21. If requested, we can continue to do this up to 25. We will work the prison to plan for your release and when this happens, if you are under 25 and eligible, you will be able to access all the support in this local offer.
Calderdale also offer financial support to you while in custody and your PA can give you details of this.
Disability or additional needs
If you have a disability, learning difficulty or an additional need that means you require more support than what is in this offer, we will do our best to help you. We have good links with adult services and we regularly support young people who also have an adult social worker. If you don’t have support from adult services and need it, we will make a referral for you. We will help you to find the support you need from other agencies and will advocate on your behalf if you want us to.
We also have an adult ‘transitions panel’, where we work with the Children Looked After teams and adult services, to identify those people who might need an adult service, before they turn 18. It is our hope that if you do need additional support, this is identified before you turn 18.
Qualifying care leavers
If you are aged between 16 and 21 OR between 16 and 25 and still in full-time education, you were looked after by children's services on or after, their 16th birthday and no longer looked after or spent less than 13 weeks in care since 14th birthday, you may be a 'qualifying' care leaver.
Qualifying care leavers can access support from us to, but you won’t necessarily have access to the full support offered by our service.
If you think you are a qualifying care leaver you should make contact with our duty team. We will complete a needs assessment with you and provide advice and assistance. Sometimes this will lead to a brief period of support from a Pathways Advisor, other times this might go on for a little longer. We work on a needs basis and will try and give you the support you request or find someone who can.
Special Guardianship
If you were in the care of the local authority before a Special Guardianship Order was made for you, you are automatically a ‘qualifying’ care leaver. If these are your circumstances, you are entitled to advice and assistance from our team. Call our duty number and have a conversation with one of our advisors to see if we can help.