Although the United States has safe haven laws, which allow mothers to safely relinquish their babies to designated safety points, rates of infant mortality remain significantly higher in the United States than other similarly developed countries. The current study is seeking to explore the state-level association between safe haven laws and…

Background: This study examines the effects of joint physical custody (JPC) on the physical and mental health of children following divorce, using comprehensive survey data from Wisconsin. Objective: Informed by Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological model, the study seeks to understand the impact of custody arrangements on children's health outcomes…

This report presents findings from the first wave of the Family Routes study, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) and delivered by Ecorys UK, the Rees Centre (University of Oxford), and Ipsos. The study was designed to explore the needs, experiences, and outcomes of young people (aged 12-25) growing up in adoptive and special…

Background: Despite a growing body of literature about parents with learning disabilities; there is a paucity of research about experiences of parenting after the removal of a child/children. This study aimed to fill this gap, examining the experiences of that parenting in this context. Method: A multiperspective interpretative phenomenological…

The analysis of linked administrative data that underpins this report is part of a broader Department for Education (DfE) funded study, "Family Routes: Growing Up in Adoptive and Special Guardianship Families." The research aims to gain a better understanding of the experiences, needs, and outcomes of children who left care on an adoption order to…

Background: Many parents with learning disabilities find themselves locked in a struggle with child protection authorities to retain custody of their children. This struggle is one against deeply entrenched prejudices as well as social arrangements that often deprive parents of needed resources. This in-depth case study explores the contours of…

Left-behind children, who are usually raised by non-parent caregivers, are often regarded as problem children in China. However, the association between left-behind status (i.e., whether children are left behind) and problem behaviors remains controversial due to the confounding effects of other demographic characteristics, such as sex, age,…

Active participation of youth and surrogate decision-makers in providing informed consent and assent for mental health treatment is critical. However, the procedural elements of an informed consent process, particularly for youth in child welfare custody, are not well defined. Given calls for psychotropic medication oversight for youth in child…

The analysis presented in this summary is part of a wider Department for Education (DfE) funded study, "Family Routes: Growing up in Adoptive and Special Guardianship Families." The research aims to explore the longer-term outcomes of children in different types of permanence arrangements. The report focuses on children who were in long-term…

Background: Newborns of parents with intellectual disabilities face higher risks in their environment for child unsafety, despite parents' good intentions. To help parents prevent unsafe circumstances, a good understanding of the risk factors faced by these parents is needed. Methods: This casefile study examined (1) which risk factors were…

This paper considers how complex family circumstances such as parental separation, custody disputes and family violence intersect with the organisational cultures and everyday practices of schools. In particular, we are concerned with the ways that coercive control -- a strategy used predominantly by men to dominate, control and oppress women in…

The linking and analysis of social care and education administrative data is one element of the research study, "Family Routes: Growing Up in Adoptive and Special Guardianship Families," funded by the Department for Education. The administrative data analysis strand intends to learn more about the experiences, needs, and outcomes of children who…

Background: Joint physical custody is a parental care arrangement in which children live roughly an equal amount of time with each parent after family dissolution, residing alternately in each of the two parental households. Because joint physical custody is characterised by fathers' continued involvement in their children's lives, this care…

The work of Urie Bronfenbrenner is a key framework in Family Science, yet there are many areas where it has seldom been applied, including in the processes experienced by divorcing families in Family Court. Acknowledging the paucity of scholarship applying ecological systems theory to these topics, the paper offers instructive interpretations of…

Attachment theory, research, and assessments have become increasingly applied to settle child custody cases. We discuss such applications in relation to admissibility criteria for scientific evidence and testimony proposed by Faigman et al. (2014). We argue that attachment theory and research can provide valid "framework evidence";…