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Amid the widespread concern about this country's high rate of teenage pregnancies, the work carried out by practitioners to improve the parenting skills of teenage parents is often overlooked. Here, Mike George talks to Mary Brady about a young woman learning to accept her new responsibilities.

Prejudice and facts often get inextricably mingled when politicians talk about teenage pregnancies. It's stated or implied that this represents a serious problem for society, for young people and for their children. Of course, this can be true. But what frequently gets left out of the discussion is the role of social care agency staff, who can at times help young people transform adversity into triumph.

From very unpromising beginnings, Mary Brady, senior practitioner in a children and families team, has achieved just that in her work with Carrie Amis (not her real name), although both she and her colleagues have had to manage some very risky situations along the way.

Amis, who is now in her late teens, became pregnant at a young age, having already spent some years truanting, absconding, using alcohol and drugs, being physically and verbally abusive to peers and her mother, and engaging in petty offending. As an adolescent she had been accommodated with specialist foster carers because her mother had been unable to cope with her or her older sister's behaviour. By this time her father was absent, though before he left he abused alcohol and was physically and verbally abusive towards her mother.

Despite the efforts of Brady's colleagues they had been unable to help Amis to improve her behaviour or risky lifestyle. Then she became pregnant with an older partner who abused drugs and who had a mental health problem. Her mother, who by now had a new partner, offered to help, but this was rejected.

Her son was born with a serious medical condition and a physical disability. Following an assessment and a child protection conference, a child protection plan was produced, with Brady being the key social worker. But again, despite Brady's efforts, Amis would not co-operate with the protection plan and resisted all efforts to advise and assist her.

Then she moved in with the birth father and Brady became extremely concerned. "I eventually tracked her down. I was assertive and clear, and said in very straightforward terms that I was her social worker, that I wasn't there to take her child away, but that this would happen if they were unable to prove to me that they could look after the baby and follow the child protection plan," she says.

But despite this, Amis continued with the lifestyle which was putting her child at risk. So after consulting with her managers Brady saw her and told her that the council was accommodating her child as a matter of urgency. "Again, I was understanding and sensible but insistent, and finally got her to understand what was going to happen and why. This time I began to feel that we were at last starting to form a relationship," she adds.

Consequently, the young child was placed with foster carers. Meanwhile,Amis had a new partner, with whom she became pregnant. "We had further discussions about whether her existing and unborn children should be subject to care proceedings. There were strong arguments for this because she was still using drugs, and because it seemed clear that she had moved in with the new partner mainly to have somewhere to live, for by this time she was completely estranged from her mother. But I argued against this since, despite all the problems, we had begun to form a trusting relationship. I wanted to work with her further to see whether we could improve the situation." A decision was made not to instigate care proceedings.

While she was pregnant Amis received a short custodial sentence for a serious assault she had carried out some months before. Brady continued working with her and says that Amis very quickly became drug-free, and really began to understand the situation, and what might happen to her and her children in the future. In short, she became an "exemplary" inmate, and worked very co-operatively with Brady. Meanwhile, the new partner, who was vehemently anti-drugs and alcohol, was very supportive, both of Carrie and of Brady's work.

On release, her change of attitude and behaviour continued. In addition, she had become reconciled with her mother, her mother's new partner and members of her wider family. She also developed a good relationship with her son's foster carers. "I had made it clear to her that the post-custodial plan was strict and formal; it related to her ability to parent properly, and that she would be regularly assessed and reviewed. But by now I was convinced that she had genuinely understood my role and had a real desire to stop leading a lifestyle which put her and the children at risk."

Consequently, Amis moved into accommodation arranged through Brady, aided by a leaving care grant. With everyone's agreement, she began to spend increasing amounts of time with her son, and by now was asking for and accepting parenting advice, for both her disabled child and her new baby. Her relationship with the baby's father seems stable, says Brady, who adds that both of them have been assessed for their parenting abilities.

"She has by now proved that she can be a good parent, and has also been able to maintain her tenancy. But I think this has been one of the riskiest cases I've worked on, especially in the earlier days when it was so difficult to gain her trust," she concludes.

Arguments for risk

- Amis is bright and has shown she can understand and appreciate very difficult situations, such as the parenting needs required by a disabled child, which would be challenging enough for a mature and resourceful adult.

- She has been able to form a constructive and trusting relationship with Brady and with her colleagues.

- Since discharge from custody she has been monitored and reviewed not just by Brady, but also staff from a youth offending team, NCH Action for Children, and medical staff.

- She is now reconciled with her mother, her new partner and with her wider family, and has been working closely and amicably with her son's foster carers.

- She has developed and maintained a good relationship with her second partner.

- She has maintained a tenancy, and has now been offered better accommodation by a housing association.

Arguments against risk

- Amis was vulnerable and at considerable risk herself.

- She had not been parented adequately herself; her mother lacked self-esteem and self- confidence, while her father abused alcohol and his wife, and was then absent completely.

- Amis seemed incapable of and unwilling to understand that her first child was very vulnerable, and actually increased the risks he faced through her behaviour and lifestyle; similarly, the son's father was unable or unwilling to take on a meaningful parenting role.

- She was in her teens when she first became pregnant and had her child; she was still in her teens when she had her second.

- She did not have the resources or understanding to form meaningful relationships.

- She was willing and able to be verbally and physically abusive towards others.

- She had an unstable, offending and drugs- and alcohol-abusing lifestyle.

Case notes

Practitioner: Mary Brady.

Field: Senior practitioner in a children and families team.

Location: Cambridgeshire social services.

Client: Carrie Amis (not her real name) is in her late teens. She, her mother and older sister had been known to social services for several years because her sister and then she herself became almost impossible to parent. Both started to use alcohol and drugs and engage in petty offending.

Case history: During adolescence her behaviour worsened, even after she was accommodated with specialist foster carers and had social work support.

She became pregnant, with an older partner who abused drugs and had a mental health problem. Following an assessment and child protection conference she was allocated to Brady, who found it verydifficult to engage with her. Neither would she co-operate with the child protection plan.

As her son was at risk, both because of her behaviour and the child's serious medical condition, Brady explained the legal position and tried to improve her parenting abilities, but eventually the child was accommodated in specialist foster care.

Amis became pregnant again, with a new partner who did not use drugs or alcohol. Brady again tried to engage with them both. Then Amis received a custodial sentence for an assault carried out several months previously.

She continued to work with Brady while she was in prison, where she became drug-free and changed her attitudes fundamentally, especially towards her son and unborn child. Meanwhile, Brady had involved the foster carers, her mother and other agencies.

Dilemma: Amis's age and her behaviour presented serious risks to her child, but Brady thought she might be capable of parenting safely.

Risk factor: Both children could have been at serious risk.

Outcome: After release this improvement continued; she is now parenting well.

Independent comment

There are many difficulties facing teenage parents, writes Carolyne Willow. Daily pressures can be enormous - coping with cramped or unsuitable housing, being the subject of family arguments, having to survive on a low income, and possibly trying to complete college courses. Added to this are the challenges facing all new parents of learning how to care for a baby.

It is no surprise, then, that young people in these situations often see contact from social services as problematic rather than as a positive lifeline. Many feel dogged by the threat of removing their babies into care. For those young people who have been looked after themselves, the prospect of losing their child to social services is deeply traumatic. They often feel labelled as irresponsible and incapable of being good parents. For parents who are children themselves, the agenda of social workers often seems to be exclusively focused on the needs of the youngest child. This can undermine any chance of positive intervention.

If young people are to get the most from social workers, they need to feel respected and valued as individuals in their own right. That is why it is essential that separate social workers should be allocated to parent and baby. Independent advocacy is also fundamental, both to support young people involved in formal child protection procedures but also to offer information to professionals on the human rights implications of decisions being made about babies and young children.

Mary Brady and her colleagues are to be credited for believing in and successfully supporting Amis, who continues to live with her two young children and partner. Amis's life history shows that young people in these situations require highly skilled support. It also demonstrates that young people's lives can be transformed when professionals least expect it. In Amis's case, the opportunity to address her drug abusing while in custody seems to have made all the difference.

Carolyne Willow is joint national co-ordinator, Children's Rights Alliance for England. See www.crights.org.uk