Where are the services for fathers who experience repeat appearances in local authority care proceedings? A review of the literature

• Studies do not consistently report on mothers and fathers separately. • No studies were identified specifically relating to fathers. • One evaluation demonstrated positive outcomes for fathers. • Evidence on supporting mothers is growing and could be applied to fathers. Evidence has long demonstrated that fathers can and do play a significant role in positive outcomes for children, but in the context of repeat, or recurrent, care proceedings their support needs are overlooked. Despite the huge economic and human cost of repeat proceedings and removal of children, recurrent care services have primarily focused on mothers. This narrative literature review identifies studies that included fathers who have experienced recurrent care proceedings, to examine what is known about the services that are available to support them. Out of 27 studies identified that related to service provision, just 8 included information about fathers. Studies and/or evaluations do not consistently report on mothers and fathers separately and instead either report only on mothers or on ‘parents’. There were no research studies or evaluations of services specifically for fathers experiencing recurrent care proceedings. Fathers experiencing recurrent care proceedings (similar to mothers) have multiple and complex needs but there are few services available that offer both challenge and support to fathers in their own right or as part of a couple. The evaluation of one service working with couples demonstrated a range of positive outcomes for fathers, indicating that support for fathers can be effective. Initiatives aimed at reducing repeat care proceedings must directly engage fathers and services need to support whole families and fathers specifically, drawing on the evidence available on support for mothers. Services and evaluations should also collect and report data on mothers and fathers separately to improve practice and knowledge. For the purpose of open access, the author(s) has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.