• Future Research Leaders 

    Now in its tenth year, Welsh Crucible is a highly competitive and award-winning personal, professional and leadership development programme for the future research leaders of Wales.  Offered to just thirty people a year, the 2024 cohort includes two talented researchers from CASCADE – Verity Bennett and Helen Hodges.  They join an illustrious alumnus, including Sally Holland (2011), Hannah… Read More
  • New Study Evaluating Welsh Family Drug and Alcohol Pilot (FDAC)

    The evaluation explored whether the Welsh FDAC pilot was implemented as intended, if it had signs of potential, how it was experienced, and whether it could be scaled. The findings have shown that it was feasible to implement FDAC in the context of South Wales. There were also positive findings regarding experiences of the pilot,… Read More
  • Evidence Review contributes to evidence base for new Bill to remove private profit from children’s residential & foster care

    The report has been published on the Welsh Government website, and coincides with the introduction of a new Bill on the 20th May by the Welsh Government to remove private profit from the care of looked-after children. Lead author of the report, Dr Jonathan Ablitt, said: “We’re pleased that CASCADE research has contributed to the… Read More
  • Study highlights inequalities between women and men in their chances of having their children taken into care

    The study used existing data collected by social services and health services in Wales to look at the households children were living in before they entered care. Those households were then compared to the rest of the households in Wales from which no children entered care.  It focused particularly on the sorts of problems that… Read More
  • New Study provides insights into the Safeguarding Children with Burns

    The study, the first of its kind to examine the decision-making and multidisciplinary collaboration with professional groups in the context of paediatric burn injuries, was led by researchers from the Division of Population Medicine at Cardiff University and the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE).  The study, funded by Health and Care Research… Read More
  • Exploring online mental health and wellbeing services during ‘lockdown’.

    Two new papers have been published that explore the online mental health and wellbeing interventions and services for care-experienced young people during the pandemic, which has implications in our post Covid 19 world. During the Covid-19 pandemic many mental health and wellbeing services quickly moved to online delivery. However, there was limited discussion on how… Read More
  • colourful plasters
    Study finds children receiving care and support in Wales more likely to be immunised

    A new study into the immunisation status of children in Wales has found that children under a care and support plan had higher overall vaccination rates than the general population and were more up to date with their immunisations. The UK’s childhood immunisation programme ensures children are offered protection against serious infection. However, identifying inequalities… Read More
  • Research Methods Training

    At CASCADE we have a commitment to involving people with lived experience of children’s social services in our research. We believe this is a vital part of producing relevant and impactful research. However, it can be difficult for adults and young people to contribute and understand what we do in research. Bridging that gap is… Read More
  • Film premiere: Harmful relationships and crime 

    On Tuesday 11th July five inspiring young people visited SPARK to share the premiere of their two co-produced films exploring the impact of Child Criminal Exploitation. The event was hosted by CASCADE and attended by a small group of invited guests from across a range of related organisations. These included: Violence Prevention Unit, South Wales Police, Swansea… Read More
  • ECSWR 2023 – Milan trip

    Even though summer is approaching, the memories of Easter are still fresh in my mind. In April, I attended the ECSWR (European Conference for Social Work Research) 2023 in Milan with a group of researchers from CASCADE, including Donald, Jonathan, Alyson, Clive, Sophie, Melissa, and myself. We all actively participated in the conference, with Donald… Read More