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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

@nuffieldfjo.bsky.social

380 followers 160 following 86 posts

Nuffield FJO aims to improve the use of data and research evidence in the family justice system in England and Wales. Established by The Nuffield Foundation.

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 29

NEW BRIEFING PAPER - AVAILABLE NOW

'Residential family assessment centres: Data trends and questions'

Read and download the paper here: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/res...

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · 1d

NEW SEEDING CHANGE STORY - ON OUR WEBSITE NOW

Read the full story: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/story/reduci...

Reducing trauma and maintaining connections with HOPE Boxes when newborn babies and their mothers are separated - Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · 8d

NEW STORY COMING SOON

In our latest Seeding Change article we will be looking at how HOPE Boxes are reducing trauma and maintaining connections when newborn babies and their mothers are separated

The story will be available to read on our website soon

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 30

Our new briefing paper 'Residential family assessment centres: Data trends and questions' examines the patterns around the increasing number of new registrations of residential family assessment centres across the country.

Read more here: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/res...

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 29

NEW BRIEFING PAPER - AVAILABLE NOW

'Residential family assessment centres: Data trends and questions'

Read and download the paper here: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/res...

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 28

This new briefing paper will be available to read and download in full on our website very soon.

We will also be sharing highlights from the paper across our Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 15

In the UK, 93% of 16-year-olds stay at home with their families. They can’t vote, drive, or get a credit card, so it’s little surprise they’re not ready to live independently.

In this article Lisa Harker explores how it’s a very different story for children in the care system - ow.ly/kvLO50WntBK

Generation abandoned? - Nuffield Foundation

Young people in care are being left further behind: we need to examine why care is not providing the right foundation for adulthood

ow.ly

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 10

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Speaking on the Family Law Week podcast Anne*, one of the young people who contributed to the development of the toolkit, explains why judges writing to explain their decisions to children can be so valuable.

Listen to the podcast in full here: lnkd.in/eHXejzQA

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 10

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Earlier this year, the President of the Family Division, the Rt. Hon. Andrew McFarlane published a toolkit for judges to help them in writing to the children involved in the cases before them.

www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...

www.judiciary.uk

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 7

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Our recently published report highlights the "fragmented" nature of data collection in the family justice system and seeks to learn lessons from youth justice to move towards continuous improvement and an ethics-driven approach to data collection & use:

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/chi...

Child-focused, data-driven: Learning from youth justice to improve family justice data - Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

This paper explores whether there are lessons that the family justice system could learn from the way that data is used in the youth justice system.

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 7

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Gaps in data and a lack of a joined up plan to improve data collection is leading to a "data desert" that seriously impedes improvements to services in the family justice system, according to this article from Law Gazette.

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news-focus/i...

In depth: Family data desert is impeding improvement to court services

MPs hear that the government's approach to improving family court services for children is being impeded by information gaps and the lack of a joined-up plan to enhance data collection and analysis.

www.lawgazette.co.uk

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 4

Good data is a vital part of a just and effective family justice system. In any organisation, the choices about what is measured reflect priorities; in Lord Darzi’s words, ‘What gets measured, get managed’.

Read more from this newly published report : www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/chi...

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 3

NEW PAPER

Good data is a vital part of a just and effective family justice system. Reliable, meaningful data not only enables people to track progress against aims and objectives but also brings transparency to how the system operates.

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/chi...

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 1

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Our research highlights the vital importance of children feeling heard and understood. It points to a system which gives children and young people options about how they want to participate: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/unc...

Uncovering private family law: how often do we hear the voice of the child? - Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

This report explores the extent to which children across England and Wales participate (through the presence of court-ordered reports) and how the level of participation varies by child and case chara...

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jul 1

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This blog post from Lucy Reid highlights the importance of child participation in court proceedings, giving an example of a case where the children felt heard and understood: transparencyproject.org.uk/if-i-had-to-...

‘If I had to live with mum I’d jump out of the window’ - Why two boys ended up living with their dad

On the day I saw them trot across the court waiting room on the way back from meeting the judge, Jamie and Andrew* were 10 and 14. I didn’t know that at the t

transparencyproject.org.uk

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jun 26

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The data this quarter reflects the persistent use of DoL orders, and their increase over the last seven years

For further information about the needs and characteristics of children subject to DoLs applications, see our research here: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/wp-content/u...

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jun 26

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From January-March 2025 321 children were subject to deprivation of liberty (DoL) applications, which authorise the deprivation of a child’s liberty in an unregulated secure placements.

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jun 26

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Today, the MoJ released the latest figures on the applications for the number of children subject to deprive them of their liberty under the inherent jurisdiction of the high court, through their Family Court Statistics Quarterly release.

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/news/data-re...

Data released by the Ministry of Justice shows 321 children subject to DoL applications January to March 2025 - Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

Newly-released Ministry of Justice (MoJ) information shows that 321 children subject to DoL applications from January to March 2025

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk

Reposted by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

Academy of Social Sciences @acadsocsciences.bsky.social · Jun 18

C/W: suicide.
According to the Ministry of Justice, 1,280 children were subject to deprivation of liberty orders in 2024 in England & Wales. Lisa Harker, @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social, joins Will Hutton to explore what potential alternative approaches could look like. podfollow.com/the-we-socie...

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jun 25

NEW REPORT COMING SOON

We will be publishing this new report very soon and will announce the publication on our LinkedIn and Bluesky. Keep an eye out for more.

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Jun 18

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Director Lisa Harker appeared on the We Society podcast from Academy of Social Sciences speaking to host Will Hutton about the groundbreaking work that NFJO has undertaken on children on deprivation of liberty orders.

Listen online here: lnkd.in/dChS7DiG

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · May 6

What do you think about some of the questions posed by our updated report 'Recurrent care proceedings: five key areas for reflection from the research'?

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/rec...

Share your thoughts below.

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · May 2

This new report updates the 2021 edition and gives five key areas for reflection. We also examine effective ways of working.

Read more from the report on our website now: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/resource/rec...

Recurrent care proceedings: five key areas for reflection from the research (update) - Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

Updated briefing note bringing together key areas for reflection from research into recurrent care proceedings.

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Apr 28

This spotlight paper will update the 2021 edition, notably including findings from two recent studies that have linked Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru data with health data.

We will be posting further updates when this report is available on our website.

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Apr 16

Our brand new Data Tracker brings our data and research together into one easy-to-use dashboard.

We will be continuously adding new data to the tracker – if there is information you would like to see on our new dashboard, please message us

www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/data-tracker

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Nuffield Family Justice Observatory @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social · Apr 15

Be the first to read our latest data and research on newborn babies, and find out about upcoming events, by signing up for our bulletin.

Sign up and read previous bulletins on our website here: www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/project/newb...