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

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.