‘She can't cope in there’: Teenager with severe learning difficulties has to stay in jail due to lack of care home places

An 18-year-old girl with severe learning difficulties has to stay in jail because social services cannot find her a suitable place in a care home.

Sophie Rodgers, from Randalstown, Co Antrim, has the mental age of a 10-year-old.

She has been arrested around 100 times since she was 11, mainly for assaults on her parents and care workers.

Every time, the charges against her have been dismissed because Sophie does not have the mental capacity to understand them.

She is being held in Hydebank Wood prison in Belfast following an assault on her mother Jennifer before Christmas.

Although Sophie has been granted bail, she has to stay in Hydebank because the Northern Health and Social Care Trust cannot find her a suitable place in a care home.

Jennifer Rodgers said Sophie’s learning difficulties mean she often becomes distressed and lashes out.

In the last three years, she has been arrested and detained six times - three times in Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre in Bangor, Co Down, and three times in Hydebank after she turned 18.

Mrs Rodgers said her daughter desperately needs appropriate care support - either at home or in a specialist care home - and should not be jailed.

“How can they leave someone with so many complex needs in a prison cell?” she said.

“How hard is it, realistically, to get a bespoke placement?”

Sophie was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS), a rare genetic condition which affects growth and development.

On December 23, she was arrested for assaulting her mother, damaging the family home, and threatening her younger brother, and was sent to Hydebank.

Mrs Rodgers said Sophie tried to punch her in the face and “tried to smash the front window (of the family home)”.

“She started kicking walls and punching walls,” she said.

“She threatened her brother.

“Then she ran away, she ended up walking seven miles to the motorway.”

Mrs Rodgers said her daughter is struggling to eat in Hydebank and has lost several stone in weight in just a few weeks.

“She can't cope in there,” she said.

“She can't understand why she can't have an extra blanket because she's cold. I keep trying to tell her, you know, it is prison.

“And the prison officers are telling her to get a grip, wise up.

“But she just doesn't get it.”

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Prison Service said while it could not comment on individual cases “many people come into prison with complex needs”.

“The Prison Service works closely with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust’s Healthcare in Prison Team, who are responsible for healthcare in prisons, to support people committed to prison by the courts and to ensure they are at all times treated with dignity, respect and compassion,” he said.

Mrs Rodgers said that Sophie does not understand her repeated detentions.

“She looks to me for answers,” she said.

“She breaks my heart, I just don't know where to turn anymore.”

She added: “It's so, so sad because she's distraught."

“She's just not in a good way at all," she said.

“She was set up to fail at every turn the last three years. I don't know who to turn to, we're at our wits’ end.”

First arrest

Sophie was 11 when she was first arrested. Mrs Rodgers said she had no choice but to ring police after Sophie destroyed the family home and was “biting, scratching”.

The teenager was later excluded from Rossmar Special School in Limavady, Co Derry, after teachers called police several times due to her challenging behaviour.

A spokeswoman for the school said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on individuals, but (we) can provide assurances that the school has robust policies and procedures in place and take proactive steps to ensure a safe and nurturing environment for all pupils.”

After every arrest she was held for either several hours or overnight at a police station, her mother said.

“Police in every area she has lived know her by name,” Mrs Rodgers said.

Jennifer said she and her husband Neil were able to care for Sophie at home until she was 15, thanks to home visits from carers and fortnightly breaks at a respite centre.

But in 2022, Sophie’s care support was stopped.

Since then, she has spent time in eight different care homes and temporary accommodation, including a 12-week stint at Lakewood, a secure children’s care centre in Bangor, Co Down.

“It (care support) was cut with the drop of a hat,” Mrs Rodgers said.

“It was from around that time that things really escalated.

“I’ve ended up in the hospital. She nearly broke my arm. She broke a couple of her dad’s ribs.

“She can’t deal with her emotions. She doesn’t know how to tell you what she is feeling.

“When she comes down out of that heightened emotion, then it's tears and she is sorry.”

Mrs Rodgers said caring for Sophie has taken its toll on her husband, Sophie's four adult siblings and 16-year-old brother.

But said she wants “nothing more than to have her (Sophie) at home”.

“The main thing is the lack of support, it's so frustrating,” she said.

Permanent home

When Sophie turned 18, she was sent to an adult care home.

Mrs Rodgers said the family thought the placement would be permanent but Sophie had to leave within days after she became distressed, damaged property and hit staff.

“We were specifically told: ‘No matter what she does, this is her forever home, we are well equipped for everything’,” she said.

“Four days later, they evicted her at the drop of a hat with no backup, and she's been in and out of Hydebank since September.”

Mrs Rodgers said the Northern trust is still trying to find a permanent home for Sophie.

But she said the family do not know if the home is either local or suitable.

“Again, don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting someone to wave a magic wand: ‘There's your placement. Let's move in, and everything's going to be hunky dory’,” she said.

“I'm not that naive to think that's how it works. But, you know, it's been going on long enough.”

Mrs Rodgers said she is determined to get help for Sophie.

“People say to me how do you do it?” she said.

“And I say, because I bloody have to. You just have to get on with it. There's no one else to. Where would she be if we weren't fighting her corner, you know?”

Eamonn McNally, a solicitor at the Children's Law Centre who previously represented Sophie, said the teenager has been “dragged into the criminal justice system for what is essentially a health and social care situation”.

He said every time Sophie is arrested and charged, she is assessed to see if she understands the charges.

Mr McNally called for a better approach in cases like Sophie’s.

“I have a great deal of sympathy for the police, because they have to come out when they are called,” he said.

“You are really relying on a particularly good, common sense approach from the police and prosecution service.”

Mr McNally said that he is working with the families of several children who, like Sophie, need places in specialist care homes.

“It is inevitable that the children are going to enter into the care system, and when it happens, we are not ready for that influx by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.

“I have at least half a dozen similar families, and without support, they are going to crumble.”

Chris Quinn, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, said while he could not comment on individual cases, urgent reform of children’s social care was needed.

“Children and families in Northern Ireland deserve better,” he said.

“It is time for real reform, real investment, and real commitment to meeting their needs."

He added: “We must see a fundamental shift towards early intervention and family support to prevent children from reaching crisis point before help is available."

A spokeswoman for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust said it “makes every effort to provide suitable accommodation for any young person in our care”.

“Often these cases are complex, particularly when a young person is transitioning from our children’s services to adult services,” she said.

“Given the current pressures on respite care and residential placements across the entire region, the Trust is limited in the types of accommodation that is available.

“We acknowledge that on some occasions we may not meet an individual’s needs.

“In these circumstances we regret a better solution is not readily available at that point in time.

“We accept that there is learning for the Trust and remain committed to working with young people and their families to ensure they receive the appropriate care and support.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said it has seen an “increasing demand for access to short breaks services (respite care)”.

“Some children and young people with a disability have also required longer-term residential placements, this has led to occasions where short breaks beds have been repurposed for residential care,” she said.

She added that, in October, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt announced extra funding of up to £13 million a year for respite services.

She said the money will be used to allow more families to get respite care for their loved ones.

“Trusts have submitted proposals outlining their plans, including additional foster care placements, expanded therapeutic services, and enhanced community respite options,” she said.

“The Department will ensure accountability by requiring Trusts to align their delivery plans with ministerial priorities.”

Fitness to plead

A spokeswoman for the Judiciary of Northern Ireland said judges decide on whether a defendant is fit to plead to any charges.

“It would not be appropriate for this office to comment further on individual cases,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it was “aware that this young woman is vulnerable and recognise(s) that her contact with the criminal justice system has been difficult for her and her family”.

She said when assessing if someone should face prosecution, the service looks at all the evidence in a case and also whether it is in the public interest.

“It is recognised that there are limitations in the ability of the criminal justice system to deal with cases of this type and, where a defendant is not fit to plead, the available sentencing options are restricted,” she said.

“An accused person’s fitness to plead may not be static and it may therefore be important to ensure that any expert evidence is sufficiently up to date.”

She said following expert advice on Sophie’s cases, all but one have been dropped.