This article investigates the empirical backing for the claim that poor law officials needed legal authority to refuse poor parents’ right to the custody of their children in order to stabilise children's welfare institutions during the nineteenth century. Although workhouses were capable of accommodating children, Victorian lawmakers feared children would model themselves on adult paupers to become permanent burdens on the state. To tackle this problem, a system of children's welfare institutions called ‘district schools’ was introduced to train children to become industrious adult labourers. Children were usually classified as orphans or deserted so they could be sent to district schools without fear of family intervention. However, children with ambiguous parental circumstances were labelled as ‘other’ and considered a problematic class because they were perceived to be at risk of having on-going contact with their birth families. Lawmakers feared parents of ‘other’ children would undermine reformation efforts by asserting their custody rights, and passed the first laws in English history to allow the state to restrict parental rights on this basis. This article explores the claim of unwanted parental involvement, and in doing so, seeks to contextualise the origins of public law interference in the family sphere within a narrative of imposed citizenship rather than protection.

中文翻译：

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学区学校和《济贫法》对父母权利的侵蚀：来自伦敦的案例研究（1889-1899）

本文调查了 19 世纪贫困法律官员需要法律权威来拒绝贫困父母对其子女的监护权以稳定儿童福利机构的说法的实证依据。尽管济贫院能够容纳儿童，但维多利亚州的立法者担心儿童会模仿成年乞丐，成为国家的永久负担。为了解决这个问题，引入了一种称为“地区学校”的儿童福利机构系统，以培训儿童成为勤劳的成年劳动者。儿童通常被归类为孤儿或被遗弃的人，这样他们就可以被送到地区学校而不必担心家庭干预。然而，父母情况不明确的孩子被贴上“其他”标签，并被认为是有问题的班级，因为他们被认为有可能与他们的出生家庭持续接触。立法者担心“其他”孩子的父母会通过主张他们的监护权来破坏改革努力，并通过了英国历史上第一部允许国家在此基础上限制父母权利的法律。本文探讨了不想要的父母参与的主张，并在此过程中试图将公法干预家庭领域的起源置于强加的公民身份而非保护的叙述中。立法者担心“其他”孩子的父母会通过主张他们的监护权来破坏改革努力，并通过了英国历史上第一部允许国家在此基础上限制父母权利的法律。本文探讨了不想要的父母参与的主张，并在此过程中试图将公法干预家庭领域的起源置于强加的公民身份而非保护的叙述中。立法者担心“其他”孩子的父母会通过主张他们的监护权来破坏改革努力，并通过了英国历史上第一部允许国家在此基础上限制父母权利的法律。本文探讨了不想要的父母参与的主张，并在此过程中试图将公法干预家庭领域的起源置于强加的公民身份而非保护的叙述中。