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一轮诉讼中回到家事法庭，并在其照料下失去多名子女。先前的研究结果证实，年轻的母亲，特别是那些在十几岁时就生了第一个孩子的母亲，复发的风险非常高。对于这一特定群体来说，早孕的挑战由于许多少女母亲经历其他相互交织的脆弱性而变得更加复杂，例如贫困、童年受虐待史、复杂的精神健康问题以及自己花时间照顾他人的可能性增加。目前，还没有使用人口层面的行政数据集的研究，特别关注家庭司法系统中的少女母亲。我们对年轻母亲如何在家庭司法系统中得到支持知之甚少。例如，没有关于他们是否获得法律援助或是否被指定为诉讼之友的数据。此外，在通过家庭司法系统考察母亲轨迹的研究中，我们未能特别关注参与经常性护理程序的最年轻母亲。此外，关于未成年母亲与收养儿童有关的风险因素的研究有限。这个研究项目旨在引导学术界关注这一高度脆弱的年轻母亲群体。它利用大规模的行政数据，力求对参与家庭司法系统的少女母亲进行描述。这将包括人口统计特征，如地理区域、子女人数、他们是单独出庭还是与伴侣一起出庭、诉讼间隔时间、诉讼总数以及他们对家庭司法制度的经验，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，该研究通过检查少女母亲的生命历程路径，确定了早孕与复发密切相关。最后，鉴于保护母子关系的持续努力，本研究将审查丧失子女监护权和永久剥夺父母权利的风险因素。本研究的动机和指导是生命历程理论的社会学框架，它引起了对关键转折点的时间和背景的关注，包括从事新的社会角色，如早期进入母亲。这意味着该项目将有机会为我们理解青少年母亲在经常性护理程序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人员，社会工作者，学术和非学术利益相关者，以及在护理程序中的年轻母亲。研究结果将通过同行评议期刊的开放出版物在国内和国际上传播，并在奖学金期间及以后计划开展网络和参与活动。

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.