Funding to Support Birth Parents in Scotland

Community-based groups working with birth parents who no longer have permanent care of their children can apply now for funding to improve and meet identified gaps in their services.

The Scottish Government has launched the Supporting Birth Parents Fund to support groups working with birth parents who no longer have permanent care of their child(ren) because of child protection services. Funding is intended to help organisations to sustain, stabilise, or increase capacity, extend, or improve services and meet identified gaps in service provision.

Public sector organisations, registered charities, social enterprises, community groups, and voluntary organisations can apply for one of two strands of funding:

  • Diagnostic grants up to £50,000 for one year to facilitate work that:
    • Enables organisations to scope the issues and barriers that affect how birth parents are supported after child protection proceedings have concluded and children have been permanently removed from their care.
    • Identifies needs and gaps in the system that surrounds support for birth parents.
    • Co-produces ideas with birth parents who have experience with the child protection system.
    • Conducts small tests of change.
    • Improves the organisation’s evidence base and preparedness, allowing them to develop future services for implementation.
  • Action grants of up to £100,000 for one year to facilitate:
    • Upscaling, securing, or implementation of service provision on a larger scale, allowing organisations to secure or sustain existing service provision.
    • Delivery of new bespoke intensive support services to address known and evidenced gaps, or services such as peer support, advocacy support, or grief and trauma counselling.
    • Implementation of a systems-change project supporting parents, with radical changes to protocol and practise.

Potential applicants contact their local Children’s Services Planning Partnership to ensure collaborative discussions on local needs inform the development of the application.

The deadline for applications is 27 January 2022 (noon).

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)