Abstract
This article presents data from the first large-scale study of fathers involved in repeat (or recurrent) care proceedings in England. The project complements important research on mothers and recurrence. It consisted of three elements: an analysis of population-level administrative data from the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS), a survey of fathers in pre-proceedings and care proceedings, and a qualitative longitudinal (QL) study of recurrent fathers. Here we report findings from the survey and the QL study, offering an expanded definition and description of fathers and recurrence. Elsewhere, we reported that a significant number of fathers appear in recurrent care proceedings and that the majority return with the same partner. Alongside this, there is also a notable pattern of “missing” fathers demonstrated by the proportion of lone mothers reappearing before the court. Our survey indicates a certain profile of recurrent fathers, but also that recurrent fathers are not straightforwardly a homogenous group. We report on the significance of recurrent fathers’ early lives, on the phenomenon of enduring couple relationships and on the prevalence of issues affecting parenting, such as poor mental health, substance use and domestic abuse. Insights from the QL study in particular reveal legacies of harm, loss, and a lack of emotional and relational resources in childhood, which have debilitating and far-reaching consequences. We argue the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities of recurrent fathers and of challenging certain assumptions in child welfare and family justice practices. There is much to be learnt from existing services for recurrent mothers, but also a need for bespoke or adapted services that may be more responsive to particular circumstances of recurrent fathers and couples.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundOver recent years, in England, the number of local authority legal applications for care orders have reached record levels, the increase has not been the same throughout the country [1,2].In England, a local authority may apply to the family court for a care order to consider placing a child in public care, where there is serious harm or serious risk of harm to that child
We found that the majority of recurrent fathers reappear before the court with the same partner (79%) and in addition, if the younger recurrent fathers are at the first set of care proceedings, the more likely they are to return
Our mixed methods project was carried out between 2017 and 2020 and involved 20 local authorities across England, over a period of 18 months. It consisted of three strands: an analysis of population-level administrative data from the Child and Family Court Advice and Support Service (CAFCASS), a survey of fathers in pre-proceedings and care proceedings and a qualitative longitudinal (QL) study following a group of recurrent fathers over time
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundOver recent years, in England, the number of local authority legal applications for care orders have reached record levels, the increase has not been the same throughout the country [1,2].In England, a local authority may apply to the family court for a care order to consider placing a child in public care, where there is serious harm or serious risk of harm to that child. In England, the number of local authority legal applications for care orders have reached record levels, the increase has not been the same throughout the country [1,2]. “public law” applications arise in conjunction with, or following, other local authority interventions such as child protection planning where there are serious child welfare concerns. This increase in care order applications has been occurring alongside a heightened demand for services—for example, increases in the numbers of child protection referrals and child protection plans [3,4,5].
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