Cardiff School of Social Sciences

Research Interests

My research interests are primarily in the fields of social work, childhoods and child welfare. I have conducted research into the assessment of families where there is a child protection concern, the effectiveness of family centres and family support, Family Group Conferences, substance misuse and child protection interventions and a number of projects with looked after children. I have recently acted as independent advisor to the Welsh Assembly Government's Inquiry into Adoption, facilitating evidence sessions for those affected by adoption.

Current projects include:

1. Safeguarding children and young people in local communities: a neighbourhood study. This is within the Welsh Institute of Social and Economic Data and Methods (WISERD). There is an ESRC CASE studentship attached to this project in partnership with the NSPCC. 

2. ‘An Evaluation of the “Option 2” Intensive Family Preservation Service’. Funded by the Alcohol Education Research Council this project is being led by Bedfordshire University in partnership with Cardiff and Birmingham Universities.

3. A feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial of a training intervention to improve the engagement of fathers in the child protection system.

I am co-convenor of the Childhood Research Group and a core group member of the Adoption Research Group, a special interest sub-group of the Childhood Research Group.

On 25^th October 2012, as part of Care Leavers Week, the Childhood Research Group hosted a Question Time event, providing the opportunity for looked after young people and care leavers from across Wales to quiz a panel of policy makers and service providers. More information about this event, including photographs and a video, can be found here.