current and recent projects
Current Projects
We are currently working with MOSAIC II, a voluntary sector agency which provides support to parents/carers of victims of abuse, to help them evaluate client outcomes and referring agency satisfaction to provide robust, independent evidence to their funders. We have also recently completed a feasibility study to explore options for development of the service across West Yorkshire. You can find out more about the MOSAIC II service by clicking here.
We are currently working with Dr Bernard Gallagher in the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies, University of Huddersfield to create the first comprehensive online register of child protection research in the UK. We are anticipating the online register will go live in Spring 2012.
We have recently completed an 18-month longitudinal study with the Nationwide Children's Research Centre and the University of Huddersfield to assess the impact of children's centre services on socially excluded families in Oldham. This research will be published shortly; in the meantime, please contact Claire Fraser for more information.
As a member of the Fathers Matter Steering Group, Claire Fraser collaborated with Professor Brid Featherstone, Professor of Social Care at The Open University to review international literature and practice in relation to working with violent fathers. This work has been published in Fathers Matter 3: Working with Risky Fathers which is available to purchase via the FRG website. We have also recently completed a resource pack for social work educators based on Fathers Matter I and II which focuses primarily on fathers whose children are involved with social care services. Further information on the Fathers Matter Project can be found by clicking here.
We have recently completed a further evaluation (with Professor Brid Featherstone) of Family Rights Group’s Parental Advocacy Service for parents/carers whose children are subject to child protection enquiries. This latest evaluation has also focused on ‘entrenched cases’ - where the child has been subject to a child protection plan for over twelve months and non engagement with the Local Authority is a matter of concern. You can find out more about the FRG Advice Service by clicking here.
We have recently joined the EU Coping Study team at the University of Huddersfield to work on the EU funded international study: Children of Prisoners, Interventions and Mitigations to Strengthen Mental Health (COPING). This child-centred research project will explore the characteristics of children of imprisoned parents, their resilience and their vulnerability to mental health problems. You can read more about the study by clicking here.
Examples of Recent Projects
During 2010 we completed an 18 month independent evaluation of an innovative peer mentoring support programme for expectant fathers on behalf of the Fatherhood Institute. The programme, Hit the Ground Crawling, was piloted at three sites in Staffordshire with great success. You can find out more about the programme by clicking here and you can read the final evaluation report by clicking here.
During 2009 we worked with The Survivors Trust a national charity and umbrella agency for specialist voluntary sector services who support victims/survivors of rape, sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse on two projects. The first was a mapping exercise funded by Government Equalities Office which explored stability, sustainability and capacity of specialist third sector support services across England and Wales. You can read the final report here. In the second project we provided consultancy support to the Survivors Trust to enable them to carry out a scoping exercise exploring services for victims of sexual violence on behalf of a West Midlands Borough Council.
Consult Research worked with Professor Brid Featherstone (then Professor of Social Work & Social Policy at the University of Bradford), to evaluate Family Rights Group’s Parental Advocacy service from 2006 – 2009. You can read the full report here or the executive summary here.
Further details of our previous projects can be found in the publications listed on this page.