Dr Louise Roberts
Senior Lecturer
- robertsl18@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44(0) 29 2087 4983
- 1.08, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Lecturer on the M.A. Social Work programme. Prior to this I was a researcher based in the Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE).
My research interests are broadly connected to social work with children and families. As a registered social worker I am particularly interested in the relationship between the state and the family. This includes policies and practices designed to prevent children from entering the care system, as well as the role of the state as parent / grandparent.
My PhD research (completed 2010-2014 at Cardiff University) was concerned with Support Care, a short breaks service designed to prevent family breakdown. Following this I was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship, funded by Health and Care Research Wales, concerned with early parenthood for young people in and leaving state care.
During my time at CASCADE, I supported the development and facilitation of CASCADE Voices, the award winning advisory group made up of care-experienced young people. I was involved in the Looked after Children and Education Project (funded by the Welsh Government) and together with Dawn Mannay and Alyson Rees, helped edit a new collection for University of Wales Press (2019) ‘Children and Young People Looked After? Education, Intervention and the Everyday Culture of Care in Wales’.
I have excellent working relationships with a number of statutory and third sector agencies. I led an evaluation of Barnardo’s Reflect service in Gwent (funded by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales) and contributed to the Cardiff Families First Development Project (funding by Cardiff City Council). I have sat on advisory boards for Family Rights Group, Barnardo’s and the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS).
Biography
Academic and professional qualifications:
- Doctor of Philosophy, Cardiff University, 2014
- MSc. Social Science Research Methods, Cardiff University, 2010
- M.A. Social Work, Cardiff University, 2009
Employment History:
Cardiff University:
- School of Social Sciences: Lecturer in Social Work (2018 - present)
- CASCADE, School of Social Sciences: Research Associate (2014 to present).
- School of Social Sciences: Research Assistant (October 2013)
- School of Social Sciences: ESRC funded PhD student (2010 to 2013)
Social care experience:
- Fosterline Wales, The Fostering Network: Sessional Social Worker (2011 to 2014)
- CfBT (Include): Project Manager (2003 to 2007) (supporting socially excluded young people)
- Cardiff ITEC: Basic Skills Tutor (2002 to 2003)
- Ashcroft House Residential Rehabilitation Centre: Project Worker (1999 to 2002) (supporting women with substance misuse issues)
Recent speaking engagements:
- Keynote lecture: Beijing Normal University, Beijing 2019, ‘Strengthening links between social work research policy and practice’.
- Workshop: European Social Services Conference, Milan 2019, ‘Supporting women at risk of repeat care proceedings: The development of Reflect services in Wales’.
- Seminar: Dublin City University, Dublin 2018, ‘Education for children and young people looked after’.
- Seminar: Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, 2017, ‘Pregnancy and parenthood for young people in and leaving state care’.
- Vulnerable Birth Mothers and Recurrent Care Proceedings Conference: London, 2017, ‘How can we work more effectively with care experienced mothers where there are safeguarding concerns?’.
- Exchange Workshops: Llanwrst and Cardiff, Wales, 2017, ‘Pregnancy and parenthood for young people in and leaving state care’.
- European Social Work Research Conference: Aalborg, Denmark, 2017, ‘Pregnancy and parenthood for young people in and leaving state care in Wales’ and ‘The education of looked after children in Wales’
Grants:
- 2017 - 2018 (CI) Forging Communities of Practice: Enabling Effective Educational Trajectories for Care Experienced Children and Young People (£23,429)
- 2016 – 2018 (PI), Evaluation of the Gwent Reflect Service (Public Health Wales, £17,000)
- 2014 – 2019 (PI), The children of ‘looked after’ children: care outcomes and experiences (Health and Care Research Wales post-doctoral fellowship, £253,868)
- 2016 (CI) Families First Development Project (Cardiff City Council, £50,000)
- 2016 (CI) Supporting young carers (Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan LAs, £2934)
- 2010 – 2013 Supporting Families in Need: A Qualitative Case Study of the Support Care Intervention (Economic and Social Research Council studentship)
Publications
2024
- Westlake, D. et al. 2024. The basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: Protocol of a quasi-experimental evaluation. PLoS ONE 19(10), article number: e0303837. (10.1371/journal.pone.0303837)
- Rees, A., Roberts, L. and Taussig, H. 2024. ‘Family doesn’t have to be mom and dad’: An exploration of the meaning of family for care-experienced young people. Families, Relationships and Societies 13(3), pp. 461-477. (10.1332/20467435Y2023D000000002)
- Evans, L., Fitz-Symonds, S., Long, F., Roberts, L., Diaz, C. and Powell, S. 2024. “They seem to listen more now I have an advocate”: a study into the implementation of parental advocacy in Wales. Journal of Children's Services 19(2), pp. 89-104. (10.1108/JCS-05-2023-0027)
- Schroeder, E. et al. 2024. The cost-effectiveness and cost-consequences of a school-based social worker intervention: a within-trial economic evaluation. [Online]. SSRN. (10.2139/ssrn.4776734)
- Holland, S. et al. 2024. Basic income for care leavers in Wales pilot evaluation: annual report, 2023 to 2024. Welsh Government. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/basic-income-care-leavers-wales-pilot-evaluation-annual-report-2023-2024
- 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
- Taussig, H. N., Roberts, L., Scourfield, J. and Franz, C. 2023. “I'm glad that I was given a second chance to live”: The buffering impact of turning points in the lives of young people with foster care experience. International Journal on Child Maltreatment 6, pp. 233-254. (10.1007/s42448-022-00129-6)
2022
- Roberts, L., Scourfield, J. and Taussig, H. 2022. Insights into turning points from the perspective of young people with out-of-home care experience: events, impact and facilitators of change. Developmental Child Welfare 4(4), pp. 72-76. (10.1177/25161032221118910)
- Taussig, H. and Roberts, L. 2022. Early parenthood for males and females with foster care experience: an exploratory study of predictive factors at entry to care during preadolescence. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 39, pp. 657-668. (10.1007/s10560-022-00852-6)
- Rees, A., Roberts, L., Mannay, D., Evans, R., Staples, E. and Hallett, S. 2022. Listening to the experts: Learning about relationships and their impact on educational experiences from children and young people in state care. Relational Social Work 6(2), pp. 36-57. (10.14605/RSW622202)
2021
- Roberts, L., Rees, A., Mannay, D., Bayfield, H., Corliss, C., Diaz, C. and Vaughan, R. 2021. Corporate parenting in a pandemic: Considering the delivery and receipt of support to care leavers in Wales during Covid-19. Children and Youth Services Review 128, article number: 106155. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106155)
- Roberts, L., Mannay, D., Rees, A., Bayfield, H., Corliss, C., Diaz, C. and Vaughan, R. 2021. ‘It’s been a massive struggle’: Exploring the experiences of young people leaving care during COVID-19. Young 29(4S), pp. S81-S99. (10.1177/11033088211025949)
- Roberts, L. 2021. The children of looked after children: outcomes, experiences and ensuring meaningful support to young parents in and leaving care. Bristol: Policy Press.
2020
- Roberts, L., Rees, A., Bayfield, H., Corliss, C., Diaz, C., Mannay, D. and Vaughan, R. 2020. Young people leaving care, practitioners and the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic: experiences, support, and lessons for the future. Project Report. CASCADE/Cardiff University.
2019
- Roberts, L., Maxwell, N. and Elliott, M. 2019. When young people in and leaving state care become parents: What happens and why?. Children and Youth Services Review 104, pp. 104387. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104387)
- Roberts, L. and Maxwell, N. 2019. Supporting women at risk of repeat care proceedings: The development of Reflect services in Wales. Presented at: 27th European Social Services Conference, Milan, Italy, 5-7 June 2019.
- Mannay, D., Staples, E., Hallett, S., Roberts, L., Rees, A., Evans, R. and Andrews, D. 2019. Enabling talk and reframing messages: working creatively with care experienced children and young people to recount and re-represent their everyday experiences. Child Care in Practice 25(1), pp. 51-63. (10.1080/13575279.2018.1521375)
- Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. eds. 2019. Children and young people 'looked after'? Education, intervention and the everyday culture of care in Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
- Rees, A. 2019. The daily lived experience of foster care. In: Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. eds. Children and young people 'looked after'? Education, intervention and the everyday culture of care in Wales. University of Wales Press, pp. 85-99.
- Staples, E., Roberts, L., Lyttleton-Smith, J. and Hallett, S. 2019. Enabling care-experienced young people’s participation in research: CASCADE Voices. In: Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. eds. Children and Young People 'Looked After’? Education, Intervention and the Everyday Culture of Care in Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press
- Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. 2019. Introduction. In: Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. eds. Children and young people 'looked after'? Education, intervention and the everyday culture of care in Wales.. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 1-12.
- Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. 2019. Conclusion. In: Mannay, D., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. eds. Children and young people 'looked after'? Education, intervention and the everyday culture of care in Wales.. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 228-240.
2018
- Roberts, L., Maxwell, N., Messenger, R. and Palmer, C. 2018. Evaluation of Reflect in Gwent: Final Report. Cardiff: CASCADE. Available at: https://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/cascade/our-projects/reflect/
- Roberts, L., Long, S., Young, H., Hewitt, G., Murphy, S. and Moore, G. 2018. Sexual health outcomes for young people in state care: Cross-sectional analysis of a national survey and views of social care professionals in Wales. Children and Youth Services Review 89, pp. 281-288. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.04.044)
2017
- Mannay, D., Evans, R., Staples, E., Hallett, S., Roberts, L., Rees, A. and Andrews, D. 2017. The consequences of being labelled ‘looked-after’: Exploring the educational experiences of looked-after children and young people in Wales. British Educational Research Journal 43(4), pp. 683-699. (10.1002/berj.3283)
- 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)
- Roberts, L. 2017. A small-scale qualitative scoping study into the experiences of looked after children and care leavers who are parents in Wales. Child & Family Social Work 22(3), pp. 1274-1282. (10.1111/cfs.12344)
- Roberts, L. 2017. Time to change? Exploring the impact of time-limited service provision in a family support service. Child and Family Social Work 22(S3), pp. 21-30. (10.1111/cfs.12229)
2016
- Roberts, L., Maxwell, N., Rees, P., Holland, S. and Forbes, N. 2016. Improving well-being and outcomes for looked after children in Wales: A context sensitive review of interventions. Adoption and Fostering 40(4), pp. 309-324. (10.1177/0308575916675563)
- Evans, R., Hallett, S., Rees, A. and Roberts, L. 2016. The acceptability of educational interventions: Qualitative evidence from children and young people in care. Children and Youth Services Review 71, pp. 68-76. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.030)
- Roberts, L. 2016. Using part-time fostering as a family support service: advantages, challenges and contradictions. British Journal of Social Work 46(7), pp. 2120-2136. (10.1093/bjsw/bcv075)
- Mannay, D., Staples, E., Hallett, S., Roberts, L., Rees, A., Evans, R. and Andrews, D. 2016. Exploring the educational experiences and aspirations of Looked After Children and Young People (LACYP) in Wales. Project Report. Cardiff: Children's Social Care and Research and Development Centre (CASCADE).
- Mannay, D. and Roberts, L. 2016. What have we learnt from looked after children in Wales? Reflecting on their views about educational experiences and opinions, attainment, achievement and aspirations. Presented at: Workshop with Designated Teachers, Christchurch Centre, Newport, UK, 16 March 2016.
2015
- Mannay, D., Staples, E., Hallett, S., Roberts, L., Rees, A., Evans, R. E. and Andrews, D. 2015. Executive summary: Understanding the educational experiences and opinions, attainment, achievement and aspirations of looked after children in Wales.. Technical Report.
- Mannay, D., Staples, E., Hallett, S., Roberts, L., Rees, A., Evans, R. E. and Andrews, D. 2015. Understanding the educational experiences and opinions, attainment, achievement and aspirations of looked after children in Wales. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: Welsh Government. Available at: http://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/understanding-educational-experiences-opinions-attainment-achievement-aspirations-looked-after-children-wales/?lang=en
- Roberts, L. 2015. Meeting children's needs within a family focussed agenda: The case of support care. Children and Youth Services Review 53, pp. 105-112. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.03.024)
2013
- Roberts, L. 2013. Supporting families in need: a qualitative case study of the support care intervention. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Teaching
I am a lecturer on the M.A. Social Work programme.
I am module convener for Social Science Perspectives and Social Work Practice (Level 3, children and families pathway)
I am responsible for coordinating the MASW Summer School programme.
I am a personal tutor for students hosted by Newport Local Authority.
Supervision
I currently supervise PhD students whose studies are focussed on care leavers transitions to higher education and adopted children’s experience of schooling. I have recently secured funding to supervise a PhD studentship concerned with the development and delivery of Reflect services in Wales.
I am interested in supervising PhD students with interests connected to social work with children and families.
