Professor Donald Forrester
Director of CASCADE
- forresterd@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2068 8724
- sbarc|spark, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
My main interest is in what makes for effective child and family social work. In particular I am interested in the relationship between good practice and outcomes, and in understanding the features of organisations that produce good practice. I have led projects and programmes worth over £20 million, including setting up the Tilda Goldberg Centre, academic lead for the Frontline social work programme, founding the What Works Centre for Children's Social Care and leading CASCADE Centre for Children's Social Care Research and Development.
Biography
My first degree was in Psychology, however I spent much of my time doing voluntary work with children and young people. A feeling that psychology was too individualistic led me to follow a career in social work, and I qualified in 1992. I worked in Southwark in frontline child protection until 1999, when unanswered questions about how to do the work led me into research. Stints at Sussex, Goldsmiths and Brunel culminated in me becoming a Professor at Bedfordshire. In 2016 I came to Cardiff to head up the new CASCADE Centre for Children's Social Care Research and Development - a job I absolutely love!
Professional memberships
Registered social worker (Health Care Professionals Council)
Academic positions
1999 – 2002 Research Fellow, University of Sussex
2002 - 2005 Lecturer in Social Work, Goldsmiths College
2005 - 2007 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Brunel University
2007- 2009 Reader in Child Welfare, University of Bedfordshire
2009- 2015 Professor of Social Work Research, University of Bedfordshire
Publications
2024
- Usubillaga, J., Fitz-Symonds, S., Forrester, D., Roberts, L., Diaz, C. and Evans, L. 2024. Doing with or doing to? A realist case study of factors affecting the implementation of guidance on child sexual exploitation in Wales. Children and Youth Services Review 166, article number: 107964. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107964)
- Stabler, L., O'Donnell, C., Forrester, D., Diaz, C., Willis, S. and Brand, S. 2024. How might shared decision-making meetings reduce the need for children to be in care? A rapid realist review. Journal of Social Work (10.1177/14680173241258891)
- Wood, S., Williams, A., Warner, A., Hodges, H., Cummings, A. and Forrester, D. 2024. Outcomes for high-risk young people referred to secure children’s homes for welfare reasons: a population record linkage study in England. Journal of Children's Services 19(2), pp. 105-122. (10.1108/JCS-04-2023-0018)
- Webb, M., Forrester, D., Usubillaga Narvaez, J. and Diaz, C. 2024. Do new policies influence practice? A qualitative study of practice and change in relation to the new Welsh child sexual exploitation guidance. The British Journal of Social Work 54(3), pp. 1109-1128. (10.1093/bjsw/bcad164)
- Bennett, V. et al. 2024. Student perspectives on school-based social workers: A mixed-methods study. Journal of Children's Services (10.1108/JCS-04-2023-0021)
2023
- Wood, S. and Forrester, D. 2023. Comparing local authority rates of children in care: A survey of the children’s social care workforce in Wales. The British Journal of Social Work 53(6), pp. 3089-3109. (10.1093/bjsw/bcad097)
- Adara, L. et al. 2023. The Social Workers in Schools Trial: An evaluation of school based social work.. Project Report. Early Intervention Foundation.
- Usubillaga, J., Diaz, C. and Forrester, D. 2023. How are policies implemented in children's services? Developing an initial programme theory to evaluate the implementation of the new Child Sexual Exploitation guidance in Wales. Child and Family Social Work 28(1), pp. 268-278. (10.1111/cfs.12959)
2022
- Wood, S., Scourfield, J., Stabler, L., Addis, S., Wilkins, D., Forrester, D. and Brand, S. L. 2022. How might changes to family income affect the likelihood of children being in out-of-home care? Evidence from a realist and qualitative rapid evidence assessment of interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 143, article number: 106685. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106685)
- Bostock, L., Patrizio, L., Godfrey, T. and Forrester, D. 2022. Why does systemic supervision support practitioners' practice more effectively with children and families?. Children and Youth Services Review 142, article number: 106652. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106652)
- Westlake, D. et al. 2022. The SWIS trial: protocol of a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of school based social work. PLoS ONE 17(6), article number: e0265354. (10.1371/journal.pone.0265354)
- Janes, E., Forrester, D., Reed, H. and Melendez -Torres, G. 2022. Young carers, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing: A realist synthesis. Child: Care, Health and Development 48(2), pp. 190-202. (10.1111/cch.12924)
- Forrester, D., Wood, S., Waits, C., Jones, R., Bristow, D. and Taylor-Collins, E. 2022. Children's social services and care rates in Wales: A survey of the sector. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: Wales Centre for Public Policy. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.54454/20220311
- Williams, A., Cummings, A., Forrester, D., Hodges, H., Warner, N. and Wood, S. 2022. Even secure children’s homes won’t take me. Children placed in alternative accommodation. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth 39(4), pp. 370-386. (10.1080/0886571X.2022.2044431)
2021
- Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2021. What do parents think about statutory child and family social work services in the UK?. British Journal of Social Work 51(6), pp. 2210-2227. (10.1093/bjsw/bcaa185)
- Stabler, L. et al. 2021. A scoping review of system-level mechanisms to prevent children being in out-of-home care. British Journal of Social Work 52(5), pp. 2515-2536., article number: bcab213. (10.1093/bjsw/bcab213)
- Forrester, D., Wilkins, D. and Whittaker, C. 2021. Motivational interviewing for working with children and families. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
- El-Banna, A. et al. 2021. Systematic review of economic evaluations of children's social care interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 121, article number: 105864. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105864)
2020
- Bezeczky, Z., El-Banna, A., Petrou, S., Kemp, A., Scourfield, J., Forrester, D. and Nurmatov, U. B. 2020. Intensive family preservaton services to prevent out-of-home placement of children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse and Neglect 102, article number: 104394. (10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104394)
- Forrester, D., Killian, M., Westlake, D. and Sheehan, L. 2020. Patterns of practice: an exploratory factor analysis of child and family social worker skills. Child and Family Social Work 25(1), pp. 108-117. (10.1111/cfs.12664)
- Nurmatov, U. et al. 2020. Impact of shared decision-making family meetings on children's out-of-home care, family empowerment and satisfaction: a systematic review. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Family_Group_Conferencing_Report.pdf
- Maxwell, N., Doughty, J., Slater, T., Forrester, D. and Rhodes, K. 2020. Home education for children with additional learning needs – a better choice or the only option?. Educational Review 72(4), pp. 427-442. (10.1080/00131911.2018.1532955)
2019
- Forrester, D. et al. 2019. What is the relationship between worker skills and outcomes for families in child and family social work?. British Journal of Social Work 49(8), pp. 2148-2167. (10.1093/bjsw/bcy126)
- Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2019. Predicting the future in child and family social work: theoretical, ethical and methodological issues for a proposed research programme. Child Care in Practice 26(2), pp. 196-209. (10.1080/13575279.2019.1685463)
- Brand, S., Wood, S., Stabler, L., Addis, S., Scourfield, J., Wilkins, D. and Forrester, D. 2019. How family budget change interventions affect children being in care: a rapid evidence assessment. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff, Wales: What Works for Children's Social Care. Available at: http://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_Family_Budget_Change_rapid_evidence_assessment_Full_Report_Aug2019.pdf
- Bostock, L., Patrizo, L., Godfrey, T. and Forrester, D. 2019. What is the impact of supervision on direct practice with families?. Children and Youth Services Review 105, article number: 104428. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104428)
- Bostock, L., Patrizo, L., Godfrey, T., Munro, E. and Forrester, D. 2019. How do we assess the quality of group supervision? Developing a coding framework. Children and Youth Services Review 100, pp. 515-524. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.03.027)
- 2019. Intensive family preservation services to prevent out-of-home placement of children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC-Intensive-Family-Preservation-Services-to-prevent-out-of-home-placement-of-children-v2.pdf
- Meindl, M., Stabler, L., Mayhew Manistre, L., Sheehan, L., O'Donnell, C., Forrester, D. and Brand, S. 2019. How do family drug and alcohol courts work with parents to safely reduce the number of children in care? A rapid realist review. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/WWCSC_FDAC_rapid_realist_review_Oct2019.pdf
- Stabler, L., O'Donnell, C., Forrester, D., Diaz, C., Willis, S. and Brand, S. 2019. Shared decision-making: What is good practice in delivering meetings? Involving families meaningfully in decision-making to keep children safely at home: A rapid realist review. Technical Report.
- Brand, S. et al. 2019. Mapping the evidence about what works to safely reduce the entry of children and young people into statutory care: a systematic scoping review protocol. BMJ Open 9(8), article number: e026967. (10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026967)
2018
- Sheehan, L. et al. 2018. Signs of safety: findings from a mixed methods systematic review focused on reducing the need for children to be in care. Technical Report.
- Brand, S. et al. 2018. Mapping the evidence about what works to safely reduce the number of children and young people in statutory care: A systematic scoping review. Technical Report.
- Forrester, D. et al. 2018. A randomized controlled trial of training in Motivational Interviewing for child protection. Children and Youth Services Review 88, pp. 180-190. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.014)
- Bostock, L., Lynch, A., Newlands, F. and Forrester, D. 2018. Diffusion theory and multi-disciplinary working in children's services. Journal of Integrated Care 26(2), pp. 120-129. (10.1108/JICA-10-2017-0039)
- Westlake, D., Silverwood, V., Wallace, S., Mayhew-Manistre, L. and Forrester, D. 2018. Safely reducing the need for children to enter care: telephone interviews with local authorities in England. Project Report. [Online]. London: What Works Centre for Children's Social Care. Available at: https://whatworks-csc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Reducing_the_number_of_children_in_statutory_care_telephone_interviews_with_local_authorities.pdf
2017
- Killian, M., Forrester, D., Westlake, D. and Antonopoulou, P. 2017. Validity of the Working Alliance Inventory within child protection services. Research on Social Work Practice 27(6), pp. 704-715. (10.1177/1049731515596816)
- Forrester, D., Maxwell, N., Slater, T. and Doughty, J. 2017. An evidence based review of the risks to children and young people who are educated at home. National Independent Safeguarding Board. Available at: http://safeguardingboard.wales/2017/11/23/home-education-children-report-2/
- Forrester, D. 2017. Outcomes in children’s social care. Journal of Children's Services 12(2-3), pp. 144-157. (10.1108/JCS-08-2017-0036)
- Roberts, L., Meakings, S., Smith, A., Forrester, D. and Shelton, K. 2017. Care-leavers and their children placed for adoption. Children and Youth Services Review 79, pp. 355-361. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.06.030)
- Forrester, D., Lynch, A., Bostock, L., Newlands, F., Preston, B. and Cary, A. 2017. Family safeguarding Hertfordshire: Evaluation Report. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-safeguarding-hertfordshire-an-evaluation
- Wilkins, D., Forrester, D. and Grant, L. 2017. What happens in child and family social work supervision?. Child and Family Social Work 22(2), pp. 942-951. (10.1111/cfs.12314)
- Antonopoulou, P., Killian, M. and Forrester, D. 2017. Levels of stress and anxiety in child and family social work: Workers' perceptions of organizational structure, professional support and workplace opportunities in Children's Services in the UK. Children and Youth Services Review 76, pp. 42-50. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.02.028)
- Teater, B., Roy, J., Carpenter, J., Forrester, D., Devaney, J. and Scourfield, J. 2017. Making social work count: A curriculum innovation to teach quantitative research methods and statistical analysis to undergraduate social work students in the United Kingdom. Journal of Teaching in Social Work 37(5) (10.1080/08841233.2017.1381216)
2016
- Teater, B., Devaney, J., Forrester, D., Scourfield, J. B. and Carpenter, J. 2016. Quantitative research methods for social work: making social work count. Palgrave.
- Forrester, D., Holland, S., Williams, A. and Copello, A. 2016. Helping families where parents misuse drugs or alcohol? A mixed methods comparative evaluation of an intensive family preservation service. Child and Family Social Work 21(1), pp. 65-75. (10.1111/cfs.12111)
2014
- Holland, S., Williams, A. and Forrester, D. 2014. Navigating ethical moments when researching substance misuse with parents and their children. Qualitative Research 14(4), pp. 411-427. (10.1177/1468794112473495)
- O'Connor, L., Forrester, D., Holland, S. and Williams, A. 2014. Perspectives on children's experiences in families with parental substance misuse and child protection interventions. Children and Youth Services Review 38, pp. 66-74. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.01.008)
2013
- Holland, S., Forrester, D., Williams, A. and Copello, A. 2013. Parenting and substance misuse: understanding accounts and realities in child protection contexts. British Journal of Social Work n/a (10.1093/bjsw/bcs197)
- Forrester, D. 2013. What works in helping people and why?. Social Work and Social Sciences Review 16(2), pp. 88. (10.1921/2903160205)
2012
- Forrester, D. 2012. Are the people who take part in randomised controlled trials real? A response to Stewart-Brown, et al.. Journal of Children's Services 7(2), pp. 144-147. (10.1108/17466661211238691)
2011
- Forrester, D. and Harwin, J. 2011. Parents who misuse drugs and alcohol: Effective interventions in social work and child protection. The NSPCC/Wiley Series in Protecting Children. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Galvani, S. and Forrester, D. 2011. How well prepared are newly qualified social workers for working with substance use issues? Findings from a national survey in England. Social Work Education 30(4), pp. 422-439. (10.1080/02615479.2010.504981)
- McDonald, L., Bernard, C., Forrester, D., White, S. and Shemmings, D. 2011. Mixed methods evaluation of a menu of research learning opportunities for mid-career social work academics with "protected time". Social Work and Social Sciences Review 15(3), pp. 7-25. (10.1921/095352212X658994)
2010
- Sullivan, M. P., Forrester, D. and Al-Makhamreh, S. 2010. Transnational collaboration: Evaluation of a social work training workshop in Jordan. International Social Work 53(2), pp. 217-232. (10.1177/0020872809355387)
2009
- Cocks, A. J., Al-Makhamreh, S. S., Abuieta, S., Alaedein, J., Forrester, D. and Sullivan, M. P. 2009. Facilitating the development of social work in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: A collaboration between Jordan and the UK. International Social Work 52(6), pp. 799-810. (10.1177/0020872809342656)
- Forrester, D., Goodman, K., Cocker, C., Binnie, C. and Jensch, G. 2009. What is the impact of public care on children's welfare? A review of research findings from England and Wales and their policy implications. Journal of Social Policy 38(3), pp. 439-456. (10.1017/S0047279409003110)
2008
- Forrester, D., Copello, A., Waissbein, C. and Pokhrel, S. 2008. Evaluation of an intensive family preservation service for families affected by parental substance misuse. Child Abuse Review 17(6), pp. 410-426. (10.1002/car.1048)
- Forrester, D. 2008. Child protection and re-referrals involving serious concerns: a follow-up study of 400 referrals closed by Social Services Departments. Child & Family Social Work 13(3), pp. 286-299. (10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00548.x)
- Forrester, D. 2008. Is the care system failing children?. Political Quarterly 79(2), pp. 206-211. (10.1111/j.1467-923X.2008.00927.x)
- Forrester, D., McCambridge, J., Waissbein, C. and Rollnick, S. 2008. How do child and family social workers talk to parents about child welfare concerns?. Child Abuse Review 17(1), pp. 23-35. (10.1002/car.981)
- Forrester, D., McCambridge, J., Waissbein, C., Emlyn-Jones, R. and Rollnick, S. 2008. Child risk and parental resistance: Can motivational interviewing improve the practice of child and family social workers in working with parental alcohol misuse?. British Journal of Social Work 38(7), pp. 1302-1319. (10.1093/bjsw/bcl394)
2007
- Forrester, D. and Harwin, J. 2007. Parental substance misuse and child welfare: Outcomes for children two years after referral. British Journal of Social Work 38(8), pp. 1518-1535. (10.1093/bjsw/bcm051)
- McCambridge, J., Waissbein, C., Forrester, D. and Strang, J. 2007. What is the extent and nature of quantitative research in British social work?. International Social Work 50(2), pp. 265-271. (10.1177/0020872807073992)
- Forrester, D. 2007. Patterns of re-referral to social services: a study of 400 closed cases. Child & Family Social Work 12(1), pp. 11-21. (10.1111/j.1365-2206.2006.00445.x)
- Forrester, D., Fairtlough, A. and Bennet, Y. 2007. Describing the needs of children presenting to children's services: issues of reliability and validity. Journal of Children's Services 2(2), pp. 48-59. (10.1108/17466660200700016)
2006
- Forrester, D. and Harwin, J. 2006. Parental substance misuse and child care social work: findings from the first stage of a study of 100 families. Child & Family Social Work 11(4), pp. 325-335. (10.1111/j.1365-2206.2006.00415.x)
Teaching
I teach on the Masters in Social Work and the Professional Doctorate - with a focus on evidence based practice, practice skills and assessment in social work.
I am interesed in what good practice in child and family social work is, what difference it makes and what factors shape it. This has involved studies of the impact of training, supervision and organisational change on practice, developing coding schemes of good practice and exploring different types of outcomes within children's services. Several studies have involved applying Motivational Interviewing to child and family social work. I currently lead a major infrastructure award of £3 million from Health and Care Research Wales which includes CASCADE, the Centre for Trials Research and SAIL secure data linkage at Swansea to develop new research approaches for children's social care, enhance the involvement of children and parents and increase sector engagement with and use of research.
Supervision
I currently supervise 8-10 PhD students, covering issues as diverse as ethnographies of social work decision-making, understanding the needs of young carers and exploring what leadership is in children's social care. I am particularly interested in work focussed on direct observation of practice or with the potential for an evaluative component.
CASCADE, based within one of the largest Schools of Social Science in the United Kingdom, is an exceptionally good place for postgraduate study and we have had a great deal of success in obtaining both funding for PhD study and postdoctoral research for students after they graduate. If you would like to discuss study within CASCADE do contact me.
