The Families and Children Research Group in the Department of Law and Criminology brings together academic colleagues from a range of disciplinary perspectives. Areas of research include adoption, children in state care, child abuse, children as witnesses, family formation, family life and well-being, poverty and child protection, families and food, children's experiences of living with chronic conditions and the impact on family relationships, parenting programmes, and youth justice.

Research also illuminates the relationship between families, the law and the criminal justice system. For example, studies have focused on the legal responses to alternative family structures, forensic interviewing of child abuse victims and prisoners’ familial relationships.

We aim to:

• Undertake cutting-edge scholarly research in a collaborative environment
• Contribute to conceptual and empirical understandings in relation to families and children.
• Engage with key stakeholders in society to help achieve policy and practice impact