How can the wellbeing of family members involved in child protection court proceedings be improved?

儿童保护程序中的家庭是一个边缘化群体；他们的福祉受到社会不平等的影响，包括贫困、社会排斥和健康状况不佳（Featherstone et al ., 2014）。照料程序可能涉及将儿童永久地从家庭中带走。试图挑战这一点的家庭必须在复杂的高风险程序中驾驭儿童保护系统、法院文化和环境。我在这个系统工作了12年。在儿童保护过程和环境中存在着严重的不平等，这进一步使家庭处于不利地位。面临严重困难的家庭面临着一个令人生畏的、不熟悉的环境和难以接近的专业语言和程序。家庭成员告诉我，他们经常不理解法庭上所说的或决定。这种社会不平等和疏离制度的碰撞可能产生毁灭性的影响。被“照料”的儿童数量达到创纪录水平，并继续上升：“糟糕的生活经历，加上法庭上的创伤时间，可能会在父母带着后来的孩子重新进入诉讼程序的循环中发挥作用。”（家庭权利组织，2018:35）我的研究将有助于了解当代儿童保护诉讼的家庭经验，以确定影响这一边缘化群体的跨学科专业实践和文化的改进。它将提出建议，以改善涉及全国儿童保护法庭诉讼的家庭的福祉和结果。研究问题：家庭如何体验儿童保护法庭诉讼的文化、程序和环境，这又如何影响他们的幸福？社会不平等如何影响家庭对儿童保护法庭诉讼的参与和经验？如何改善儿童保护程序的文化和环境，以保障和促进有关家庭的福祉？创新的实践方法已经试行，并显示对家庭有益。家庭毒品和酒精法庭是为滥用药物的父母设立的，采用不太正式的法庭程序。结果有所改善（FDAC评估，2014年），但事实证明成本高昂，案件处理时间更长。因此，该模式尚未在全国推广。鉴于缺乏此类创新的资金，我将探索“主流”跨学科实践、流程和环境的潜在改进，以解决不平等问题，并在这些充满压力的程序中改善家庭的福祉。目前的制度还有改进的余地，而且有必要进行研究，包括听取受影响者的意见。司法部的一个工作组正致力于改善这些过程中专业人员的福祉，“将文化转变为合作和尊重，重视并平等地质疑各方的贡献”（公法工作组，2019:36）。这承认了专业人士所体验到的这种文化既不尊重也不包容，但它没有提到同样是“当事人”的家庭，他们应该是这个过程的核心。费瑟斯通等人（2014:loc 2874）认为有必要：“根据那些在社会中挣扎求生的人的生活经历进行强有力的研究，这些人在实现尊严和价值的生活方面面临着重大障碍。”儿童保护诉讼的家庭经历属于这一必要条件，我的研究旨在解决这一问题。

Families in child protection processes are a marginalised group; their wellbeing is impacted by social inequalities including poverty, social exclusion and poor health (Featherstone et al, 2014). Care proceedings may involve children being removed from their family permanently. Families seeking to challenge this must navigate child protection systems, court culture and environment, within complex high-stakes processes. I have 12 years' experience working in this system. There are significant inequalities within the child protection process and environment that further disadvantage families. Families in grave difficulties are confronted by an intimidating, unfamiliar environment and inaccessible professional language and process. Family members tell me they often do not understand what has been said or decided at court. This collision of societal inequality and alienating systems can have a devastating impact. The number of children who are 'in care' has reached record levels and continues to rise: "Poor life experiences, plus a traumatic time in court, can play their part in the cycle of parents coming back into proceedings with subsequent children" (Family Rights Group, 2018: 35.)My research will contribute to knowledge about families' experiences of contemporary child protection proceedings, to identify improvements for inter-disciplinary professional practices and culture affecting this marginalised group. It will generate recommendations to improve the wellbeing of and the outcomes for families involved in child protection court proceedings nationally.Research questions:How do families experience the culture, processes and environment of child protection court proceedings, and how does this affect their wellbeing?How do social inequalities impact on families' participation in and experiences of child protection court proceedings?How can the culture and environment of child protection proceedings be improved, to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of the families involved?Innovative approaches to practice have been piloted and shown to benefit families. The Family Drug and Alcohol Court was set up for substance-misusing parents, using a less formal court process. Outcomes improved (FDAC Evaluation, 2014), however it proved costly and cases took longer to be processed. Consequently, the model has not been rolled out nationally. Given a lack of funding for such innovations, I will explore potential improvements in 'mainstream' inter-disciplinary practice, processes and environment, to address inequalities and improve the wellbeing of families within these stressful proceedings. There is scope for improvement in the current system, and a need for research including the voices of those affected. A Ministry of Justice working group is focussing on improving the wellbeing of professionals in these processes with "A shift in culture to one of co-operation and respect that values and equally questions the contribution of all parties" (Public Law Working Group, 2019:36). This acknowledges that the culture is not experienced as respectful nor inclusive by professionals, however it lacks reference to the families who are also 'parties', and who ought to be at the heart of the process. Featherstone et al (2014: loc 2874) identify a need for: "robust research based on the lived experiences of those who struggle to survive in a society where they face major obstacles to achieving a life of dignity and worth." Families' experiences of child protection proceedings fall within this imperative and my study aims to address this.