Project presentation
The Pas-de-Calais department is the second French department with the highest number of pregnant minors (the first being La Réunion). In 2020, 321 mothers under the age of 18 were recorded, including 98 under the age of 16. The youngest was only 12 and a half years old. Initial estimates for 2022 suggest between 500 and 600 pregnancies among underage girls in the department. These young girls are often under the radar or only occasionally supported by existing services. They are seen primarily as mothers and receive little support in continuing their education or in building their personal life plans.
To address these challenges, the Pas-de-Calais association Les Pupilles de l’Éducation Publique (PEP 62) initiated a consultation with local stakeholders involved in supporting these young girls: the Departmental Council, the Departmental Directorate of National Education Services, the Home or Hospital Educational Support Service (SAPAD), school principals and academic staff, social services, the Information Centre on Women’s Rights and Families (CIDFF), the national health insurance fund (CPAM), the family allowance fund (CAF), the network of childcare centers dedicated to professional integration (AVIP), early childhood professionals, and Maternal and Child Protection services (PMI), among others.
From this consultation, the SAMELYCO project was created. Its aim is to coordinate a comprehensive support pathway for young mothers—from the fourth month of pregnancy until the child reaches the age of three—so that they can continue their education either at school or remotely through the SAPAD system (implemented by the French National Education system).
