Our proposed project seeks to address a range of complex issues that will help young incarcerated men develop positive, healthy relationships, and prepare for future fatherhood. The aim of the Relationships and Future Fatherhood intervention is to work with the young men to provide them with the information and skills they need that will: i) empower them to make healthier sexual and reproductive health decisions; ii) promote positive consensual relationships with partners and future partners; and iii) enable critical reflection upon the roles and responsibilities of fatherhood, and to plan future fatherhood in their lives. It is anticipated this will increase the young men's sense of responsibility and well-being, and motivate them to create and maintain for their children, a more positive childhood, in relation to fathering, than they themselves experienced. This study is built around 3 work packages. In Work package 1: We will use arts-based participatory methods to support and positively engage with young men from 2 prison sites (Northern Ireland & Scotland) over the life of the project. This is so the young men's expertise can also inform the intervention content and delivery. One of the unique characteristics of the programme is that it will include an interactive video drama (IVD - film), which we will make together with the young men and a professional media production company. We will all work together to develop a script and short scenarios for the film, based on what the young incarcerated men tell us in relation to their real life experiences around sex, relationship and parenting. The film will use a 'stop-and-think' strategy. That is, at various points the film will stop and articulate a question or dilemma that invites the user to imagine how they would react, and to make some decisions, if they were in a similar situation (the interactive component). We will also develop lesson plans (worksheets and activities) from the information the young men provide that will aid learning and group discussions as part of the programme. Our participatory approach ensures that the programme reflects real-life issues that resonate with the young men. This may help make the health messages real and help them think for themselves about the importance of relationships and fatherhood. In Work Package 2: We will show the final products (IVD & Lesson Plans) to the young men and to prison and Barnardo's staff (delivery partners) in each site. We will interview them to gain their feedback on the programme to ensure it is fit-for-purpose and suitable to deliver in the two prison sites. The research team, in collaboration with the expert stakeholders group that includes representation from the Prison Services, Departments of Justice & Health, and other advocates for prisoner health and rehabilitation, will further develop the longer term sustainability of the intervention. We will then go back to the young men, prison and Barnardo's staff to check if they are happy with the intervention and assess (against progression rules) that the program is now feasible to progress to a pilot trial. The results of our inquiries will establish if the intervention is relevant, acceptable and implementable in the prison context. In Work Package 3: We will prepare for the next stage evaluation of this programme, by working through details, with trial methodology and prison experts, on how best to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. Together, we will develop a Logic Model and appropriate Research Design to take our intervention forward for effectiveness testing. So, at the end of this study we will have developed an innovative programme for a marginalised group of young men in society which will be ready to test in a feasibility and pilot trial in 2 UK prison sites.

A large body of research has shown that adverse experiences during early childhood can affect children's development and have a lasting impact on their mental and cognitive health. This evidence suggests that the first few years of life form a window of vulnerability, or sensitive period, for adversity. This research has contributed to effective policy interventions designed to protect young children from adversity and improve their well-being. Inadvertently, the focus on early childhood has also led to a neglect of another formative period of our lives - adolescence. Adolescence is characterized by protracted changes in brain structure and cognition. At the same time, young people experience profound changes in social roles. They become increasingly independent from their parents, and more focussed on peers. Emerging theories of adolescent development suggest that these social, cognitive and neural changes in adolescence may give rise to a second sensitive period after early childhood - particularly for adverse social experiences such as being bullied or excluded. We are now at a unique point in time where recent advances in statistical methodology, combined with emerging data following large cohorts of young people over time, allow us to test these theories systematically. This provides unprecedented opportunities to foster well-being in young people by informing adversity prevention, detection and intervention efforts. The three main objectives of our research are: 1. Identifying different types of social adversity To capture the multifaceted nature of social adversity, we have established a partnership with the Children's Charity Barnardo's. We will be able to use their data on social, educational and mental health practitioners' views of what types of social adversity matter most to young people. Guided by these insights, we will analyse data from large UK cohorts to understand how different types of social adversity affect mental health and cognition in young people. We will feed our insights back to practitioners to help guide their practice and support young people who experience social adversity. 2. Characterizing windows of vulnerability in adolescence Leveraging data from large UK cohorts, we will analyse how social adversity affects children, young people and adults. This will help us understand at what point in life what type of adversity affects us most. It will also tell us whether there are sensitive or vulnerable periods in adolescence. This work will help inform policy, charity and government work, by highlighting at what point in life prevention and intervention efforts may be most important. 3. Investigating developmental sequences For this objective we will analyse data on young people's experience of adversity, as well as information on their cognitive and brain development. This will allow us to understand the sequence of developmental events leading from adversity to cognitive changes. This will generate new theories about sensitive periods in adolescence and inspire future research into adversity. Our work will lead to a new understanding of vulnerabilities in young people. It will pinpoint what types of social adversity need to be targeted, and at which point in life, in order to ameliorate cognitive and mental health problems later on. To ensure that our findings reach young people and those caring for them, we will write an accessible policy brief in partnership with Barnardo's, and host a collaborative workshop for practitioners, policy makers and charities. In this workshop, we will discuss our findings and seek input from stakeholders on how our findings synergize with policy and practice. We will then take our findings to the public through online, print and social media, as well as presenting our work in schools. All of this ensures that our work has a lasting and positive impact on young people's well-being.

Currently, the government does not know how many of its looked after children (for example, children who have lived in foster care or children's homes) become involved with the youth justice system, or how many of those children reside in youth custody (see Hunter, 2019; Laming, 2016). It does not know how many care experienced individuals fall into criminal justice involvement and imprisonment (see Fitzpatrick et al. 2019). There is no data which outlines the ethnicity of care experienced individuals who become justice involved. The new MoJ/DfE linked administrative datasets funded by ADR UK will make it possible to analyse the intersections between ethnicity, care experience, and criminal justice involvement for the first time. This Fellowship will directly build upon my PhD research on the over-representation of looked after children and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) children in the youth justice system in England and Wales. The research utilised official statistics and 27 in-depth interviews with youth justice and children's services experts. Principally, the research indicated that existing inequalities in relation to ethnicity and looked after status have intensified and that BAME looked after children experience compounded disadvantage (Hunter, 2019). However, the thesis found that much is still unknown about the intersections between ethnicity and looked after status in youth justice involvement, largely as a result of insufficient official data. The research evidence suggests that failings in the care system can both increase the risk of justice system contact and influence routes through the justice system (see Hunter, 2019). Evidence also points to frequency of incidents, as opposed to seriousness, having the greatest impact on criminal justice interventions for looked after children (see Shaw, 2014). The new linked datasets mean that it is now possible to explore when offending began and frequency of offending for care experienced individuals, as well as the role of ethnicity. Furthermore, information about care histories means that we can explore the effect of various experiences on criminal justice outcomes. Research suggests that age entering care and multiple placements may influence offending (e.g. Baskin & Sommers, 2011; Darker, Ward & Caulfield, 2008; Jonson-Reid & Barth, 2000). However, no study has considered how certain features of care experience might impact upon criminal justice outcomes for different ethnic groups. The Laming Review estimated that 44 percent of all looked after children in custody come from an ethnic minority background (PRT, 2016: 65). The international research also suggests that there is a relationship between ethnicity and involvement in systems of care and justice, which warrants further investigation. Studies from the USA and Australia suggest that minority ethnic children in care have higher rates of youth justice involvement (see for example, Dollan et al. 2013; Goodkind et al., 2012; Ryan, Testa & Zhai, 2008; Stewart et al. 2008) and receive harsher outcomes than their white peers (Herz, Ryan & Bilchik, 2010). The research aims to address gaps in knowledge with regards to the intersections between ethnicity and looked after status in offending and youth/adult criminal justice involvement. It will utilise new linked MoJ/DfE data to investigate the onset and frequency of offending of care experienced individuals and their ethnic group. It will explore the impact of various care system experiences (such as number of placements) on criminal justice outcomes, and whether this varies by ethnic group. In doing so, it will produce findings which will benefit professionals and policymakers and most importantly, BAME care experienced individuals.

Currently, the government does not know how many of its looked after children (for example, children who have lived in foster care or children's homes) become involved with the youth justice system, or how many of those children reside in youth custody (see Hunter, 2019; Laming, 2016). It does not know how many care experienced individuals fall into criminal justice involvement and imprisonment (see Fitzpatrick et al. 2019). There is no data which outlines the ethnicity of care experienced individuals who become justice involved. The new MoJ/DfE linked administrative datasets funded by ADR UK will make it possible to analyse the intersections between ethnicity, care experience, and criminal justice involvement for the first time. This Fellowship will directly build upon my PhD research on the over-representation of looked after children and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) children in the youth justice system in England and Wales. The research utilised official statistics and 27 in-depth interviews with youth justice and children's services experts. Principally, the research indicated that existing inequalities in relation to ethnicity and looked after status have intensified and that BAME looked after children experience compounded disadvantage (Hunter, 2019). However, the thesis found that much is still unknown about the intersections between ethnicity and looked after status in youth justice involvement, largely as a result of insufficient official data. The research evidence suggests that failings in the care system can both increase the risk of justice system contact and influence routes through the justice system (see Hunter, 2019). Evidence also points to frequency of incidents, as opposed to seriousness, having the greatest impact on criminal justice interventions for looked after children (see Shaw, 2014). The new linked datasets mean that it is now possible to explore when offending began and frequency of offending for care experienced individuals, as well as the role of ethnicity. Furthermore, information about care histories means that we can explore the effect of various experiences on criminal justice outcomes. Research suggests that age entering care and multiple placements may influence offending (e.g. Baskin & Sommers, 2011; Darker, Ward & Caulfield, 2008; Jonson-Reid & Barth, 2000). However, no study has considered how certain features of care experience might impact upon criminal justice outcomes for different ethnic groups. The Laming Review estimated that 44 percent of all looked after children in custody come from an ethnic minority background (PRT, 2016: 65). The international research also suggests that there is a relationship between ethnicity and involvement in systems of care and justice, which warrants further investigation. Studies from the USA and Australia suggest that minority ethnic children in care have higher rates of youth justice involvement (see for example, Dollan et al. 2013; Goodkind et al., 2012; Ryan, Testa & Zhai, 2008; Stewart et al. 2008) and receive harsher outcomes than their white peers (Herz, Ryan & Bilchik, 2010). The research aims to address gaps in knowledge with regards to the intersections between ethnicity and looked after status in offending and youth/adult criminal justice involvement. It will utilise new linked MoJ/DfE data to investigate the onset and frequency of offending of care experienced individuals and their ethnic group. It will explore the impact of various care system experiences (such as number of placements) on criminal justice outcomes, and whether this varies by ethnic group. In doing so, it will produce findings which will benefit professionals and policymakers and most importantly, BAME care experienced individuals.

National and local organisations produce a wealth of valuable data, which can be used to understand how we can reduce the number of children at risk of poor social, health and educational outcomes. However, at present, this administrative data is not being used by enough researchers or analysts. In addition, researchers and analysts are not consistently addressing the questions that policy makers, practitioners or families themselves consider to be the most important. Funded by Administrative Data Research (ADR) England, we will establish a national community catalyst that will provide a vital point of connection, information and coaching for a broad and diverse community of child and family focused researchers and analysts, using (or aspiring to use) administrative data. The community catalyst will focus on children involved with early intervention and children's social care services. We will deliver a 2-year programme of online and face-to-face networking events and information, together with focused coaching workshops. The actions of the catalyst will build a community of researchers who are better connected and better informed. In addition, we will foster tighter connections between researchers and the end users of their work, to ensure close alignment between research and stakeholder priorities. The community catalyst will achieve these over-arching objectives, through four inter-linked work packages (WPs). WP1 will provide national strategic leadership, by delivering a far clearer and up-to-date understanding of the scope of current research using administrative data for child-focused research, together with a firm indication of priorities for new research. An open access research report will integrate learning across the WP, making recommendations about how any barriers to the delivery of new priority knowledge, can be tackled. WP2 will build capacity in the use of administrative and other large-scale datasets by establishing a web-based "one-stop shop" for child-focused researchers, complemented by an effective communication strategy and online information giving events. WP2 aims to raise awareness of the value and availability of administrative data resources, attract new entrants to the community of researchers, and forge greater connections between those already using these data. WP3 aims to strengthen and expand a diverse administrative data research community, through online and face-to-face networking events, focused on the ADR UK flagship datasets and use-cases. Focused coaching workshops will target and support new-comers to administrative data research, and provide opportunities for new collaborations among more experienced researchers. WP4 will provide a bespoke opportunity for an embedded research fellow, to access and use the valuable EChild resource, with supervision from the core team. To deliver on this ambitious project, we have brought together a highly experienced interdisciplinary project team - across five academic institutions in the UK; all members of the core team have pioneered the use of child and family administrative data, across sectors. The core team will be supported by a wider expert reference group, who will share their experience and use-cases, against each of the ADR England flagship datasets and related data resources.