Exploring the life course patterns and family justice experience of young mothers involved in recurrent care proceedings in England

在第一轮照料诉讼中出庭的母亲中，有很大一部分后来将在新的一系列诉讼中回到家庭法院，并从他们的照料中失去多个孩子。之前的研究结果证实，年轻母亲，特别是那些十几岁就有了第一个孩子的母亲，复发的风险很高。对于这一特定群体来说，许多十几岁的母亲经历了其他相互交错的脆弱性，如贫困、儿童期虐待史、复杂的心理健康问题以及自己花时间照料的可能性增加，这加剧了这一特定群体的早产挑战。目前，还没有研究使用人口一级的行政数据集，特别侧重于家庭司法系统中十几岁的母亲。关于如何支持年轻母亲驾驭家庭司法系统，我们知之甚少。例如，没有关于他们是否可以获得法律援助或是否被指定为诉讼朋友的数据。此外，在通过家庭司法系统对产妇轨迹进行研究的情况下，我们无法特别侧重于参与经常性护理程序的最年轻的母亲。此外，关于青少年母亲与收养儿童相关的风险因素的研究有限。这项研究项目旨在引导学术界对这一高度脆弱的年轻母亲群体的关注。它利用大规模的行政数据，试图建立参与家庭司法系统的青少年母亲的描述性概况。这将包括人口统计特征，如地理区域、儿童数量、他们是否单独出庭或与伴侣一起出庭、诉讼间隔、诉讼总数以及他们对家庭司法系统的经验，例如他们是否有法律代表或诉讼朋友。它还建立在现有研究的基础上，通过研究十几岁母亲的生命历程，确定早期母亲与复发密切相关。最后，鉴于维护母子关系的持续努力，这项研究将审查失去子女监护权和永久剥夺父母权利的风险因素。这项研究是在生命历程理论的社会学框架的推动和指导下进行的，该理论提请人们注意关键转折点的时机和背景，包括参与新的社会角色，如及早成为母亲。这意味着这个项目将有机会为我们理解青少年母亲在经常性护理过程中的发展轨迹做出重要贡献。这项研究的主要受益者预计将包括从业者、社会工作者、学术界和非学术界的利益相关者，以及参与护理过程的年轻母亲。研究成果将通过同行评议期刊上的开放获取出版物在国内和国际上传播，并在研究金期间及以后计划开展联网和参与活动。

A large proportion of mothers who appear in a first set of care proceedings will later return to family court in a new set of proceedings and lose multiple children from their care. Previous research findings confirm that young mothers, particularly those who have their first child as a teenager, are at a significantly high risk of recurrence. The challenges of early motherhood are compounded for this specific cohort by the fact that many teenage mothers experience other intersecting vulnerabilities, such as poverty, childhood histories of abuse, complex mental health issues, and a heightened likelihood of having spent time in care themselves. Currently, there are no studies using population-level administrative datasets with a specific focus on teenage mothers in the family justice system. We know very little regarding how young mothers are supported to navigate the family justice system. For example, there is no data on whether they have access to legal aid or if they have been appointed a litigation friend. In addition, where studies have looked at maternal trajectories through the family justice system, we have not been able to focus specifically on the youngest mothers involved in recurrent care proceedings. Furthermore, there is limited research on teenage mothers in relation to the risk factors associated with child adoption.This research project aims to direct academic attention towards this highly vulnerable population of young mothers. Using large-scale administrative data, it seeks to develop a descriptive profile of teenage mothers involved in the family justice system. This will include demographic characteristics such as geographic area (LSOA), number of children, whether they appear alone or with partners in the proceedings, intervals between proceedings, the total number of proceedings, and their experience of the family justice system, such as whether they have legal representation or a litigation friend. It also builds upon existing research which identifies early motherhood as being strongly associated with recurrence by examining the life course pathways of teenage mothers. Finally, given the ongoing efforts to safeguard mother-child relationships, this research will examine risk factors for loss of child custody and permanent severance of parental rights. This research is motivated and guided by the sociological framework of life course theory, which draws attention to the timing and context of critical transition points, including engaging in new social roles such as early entry into motherhood. This means that this project will have an opportunity to make crucial contributions to our understanding of the developmental trajectories of teenage mothers in recurrent care proceedings.The key beneficiaries of this research are expected to include practitioners, social workers, academic and non-academic stakeholders, and young mothers in care proceedings. The research findings will be disseminated both nationally and internationally via open-access publication in peer-reviewed journals, along with networking and engagement activities planned for the duration of the fellowship and beyond.