Referrals of children in need of protection to live with relatives abroad in EU countries

这个混合方法项目考察了英国家庭司法从业人员在将儿童置于欧洲(欧盟)边境的风险时所面临的挑战。在英格兰，当儿童需要离家照看时，地方当局必须首先考虑与家人团聚。然而，当孩子的亲属生活在国外时，寻找和评估亲属的难度要大得多，而且对于英国退出欧盟(Brexit)带来的额外挑战，存在着知识缺口。由于全球移徙，公共服务应对日益多样化的有需要的儿童人口。虽然移徙可以改善家庭生活，但它也会造成困难，使儿童处于危险之中(Ackers和Stalford，2004；Northcott和Jeffries，2012；Lamont和Fenton-Glynn，2016)。迄今为止，关于从业人员如何驾驭复杂的国际法定框架以确保其家庭资源跨越欧洲边界的儿童的最佳利益决定的研究不足。对于这一脆弱的儿童群体，以及跨境安置的挑战如何因英国退欧而复杂化，人们知之甚少。需要系统的研究来提供最佳实践。研究问题：关于2015年至2021年期间英国地方当局安置在欧洲的海外儿童的数字、社会人口学特征和结果，官方数据集和CFAB数据库能告诉我们什么？这些数据的局限性是什么？可以提出什么建议来改善它？这个项目获得的关于这一儿童群体的新的描述性知识如何为司法决策提供依据？英格兰的从业者和司法机构在对欧洲大家庭的儿童做出安置决定时描述了哪些挑战？鉴于英国脱欧带来的立法变化，挑战是如何加剧/改善的？如何改进政策和实践，以确保儿童在国际上获得可能的最佳结果？

This mixed-methods project examines challenges faced by family justice practitioners in England when placing children at risk across European (EU) borders. In England, when children require out of home care, local authorities must first consider placement with family. However, the search for and assessment of relatives is far more challenging when children's kin live abroad, and there are knowledge gaps regarding the added challenges of the UK's exit from the EU (BREXIT). Due to global migration, public services deal with an increasingly diverse population of children in need. Although migration can improve family life, it can also create hardships that render children at risk (Ackers and Stalford 2004; Northcott and Jeffries 2012; Lamont and Fenton-Glynn 2016). To date, there has been insufficient research on how practitioners navigate complex international statutory frameworks to ensure best interest decisions for children whose family resources span European borders. Little is known about this vulnerable population of children and how the challenges of cross border placements are complicated by BREXIT. Systematic research is required to inform best practice.Research questions:What can official datasets and the CFAB database tell us about the numbers, socio demographic profiles and outcomes for children placed by English local authorities abroad in Europe between 2015 and 2021? What are limitations of the data and what recommendations can be made to improve it? How can the new descriptive knowledge this project gained about this child population inform judicial decision-making?What challenges do practitioners and the Judiciary in England describe when making placement decisions about children with extended families in Europe? How are challenges compounded/ameliorated given legislative changes due to BREXIT?How can policy and practice be improved to ensure the best possible outcomes for children placed internationally?