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Louise Roberts

Dr Louise Roberts

(she/her)

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Teams and roles for Louise Roberts

Overview

I am a Reader in Social Work and teach on the MA Social Work programme. I am Assistant Director of  CASCADE, the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre and am the academic lead for Public Involvement.

My research interests are broadly connected to social work with children and families. As a registered social worker, I am broadly 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. I am particularly interested in young people's transitions from care into adulthood. I am a member of INTRAC (International Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood from Care) and with Professor Tehila Refaeli, lead a special interest group related to parenting https://globalintrac.com/theme-groups/care-leavers-as-parents/

I am committed to strengthening the relationship between research, policy and practice. The idea for my postdoctoral study which was concerned with outcomes, experiences and support for parents in and leaving state care, came from care-experienced young people. The findings highlighted widespread stigma and discrimination, under-developed and variable support, and concerning levels of child/parent separation. Following the research, a good practice charter was co-produced and has been adopted by a range of local authorities and third sector organisations. More details of this work can be found here: https://www.exchangewales.org/supporting-parents-in-and-leaving-care-messagestocorporateparents/  

My current research projects include evaluations of the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales pilot and the Fostering Network's Step Up Step Down service, and exploring the role of Personal Advisors in Wales.

Publication

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2013

Articles

Book sections

  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.

Books

Conferences

Monographs

Thesis

Websites

Research

Selected grants:

·     2025 (PI) Supporting Parents in and Leaving Care in Australia: Developing a Good Practice Charter for Change (ESRC Impact Acceleration Account £15,000)

·     2024 (CI) Exploring the role of personal advisors in Wales: A co-produced study with care-experienced young people (Health and Care Research Wales £320K)

·       2024 (CI) Pre-birth assessments for women who use substances in pregnancy (NIHR £250,000)

·       2023 (co-PI with Professor Dawn Mannay) Evaluation of Step Up, Step Down (The Fostering Network £30,000)

·       2022 (CI) Evaluation of the Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales Pilot (Welsh Government £1.2M)

·       2022 (PI) Supporting Parents in and Leaving Care: #MessagesToCorporateParents (Innovation for All £9,575)

·   2022 (PI) Supporting Parents in and Leaving Care: #MessagesToCorporateParents (ESRC Impact Acceleration Account additional £11,000)

·       2021 (CI) Evaluation of the Parental Advocacy Service in Gwent (NYAS Cymru £50,000)

·     2020 (PI) Supporting Parents in and Leaving Care: #MessagesToCorporateParents (ESRC Impact Acceleration Account £25,837)

·    2014 – 2019 (PI), The children of ‘looked after’ children: care outcomes and experiences (Health and Care Research Wales post-doctoral fellowship, £253,868)

Teaching

I am part of the teaching team for the M.A. Social Work programme. 

I am module convener for:

  • Social Science Perspectives (I & II) (year 1, stages 1 & 2)
  • Dissertation (year 2, stage 3)

 

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, Senior Lecturer and Reader 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)

Selected speaking engagements:

  • Keynote speaker: Home stretch symposium 2025 https://thehomestretch.org.au/symposium/ Melbourne, Victoria 
  • Invited speaker: 'Lessons from the UK and Ireland: Pathways Beyond Care', with Emeritus Professor Robbie Gilligan (Trinity College, Dublin) and Mark Riddell MBE (National Advisor for Care Leavers, Department for Education), at The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (Home - The Centre).  
  • Workshop session: 'Strengthening Support for Parents in and Leaving Care' ISPCAN 2022, Tallinn, Estonia
  • 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?’.
  • 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’

 

Supervisions

My research interests are broadly connected to social work with children and families, particularly efforts to prevent family separation, experiences and outcomes related to the care system, and the role of the state as corporate parent. I am interested in supervising projects in these areas and would be happy to talk to prospective students about potential projects.

Current supervision

David Walker

David Walker

Dawn Hutchinson

Dawn Hutchinson

Gemma Harrison-Thornton

Gemma Harrison-Thornton

Leona Thorpe

Leona Thorpe

Sylvia Stevenson

Sylvia Stevenson

Contact Details

Email RobertsL18@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29208 74983
Campuses Glamorgan Building, Room 1.08, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Care experience
  • Social work
  • Qualitative Research
  • Participatory and collaborative research methods