Directory of Research

All research and evidence on NICCO is reviewed using a Quality Assessment Tool (QAT) developed by the University of Huddersfield and Barnardo's.

Research and evidence is assessed in four key areas: Methodological Quality, Child-Centredness, Relevance to Policy and Strategy, and Relevance to Practice with offender's children. This ensures that items on the NICCO website are as useful as possible to academics, practitioners, commissioners and other professionals. For more information about the development of the QAT or to review research in order to list it on NICCO, please see the QAT webpage where you can download the Tool, Guidebook and a short step-by-step 'How To' document. Please contact us to submit quality assessed research on to NICCO.

Click on the icons to see a full list of items which have been awarded a standard icon or icon+ (for items which have scored particularly highly) in each key area:

Child-Centredness

Relevance to Policy

Methodological Quality

Relevance to Practice

37. Mentoring - A promising intervention for children of prisoners
This short piece of research relates to the mentoring of children of prisoners in the US however, it can be applied to any country with an interest in this area. It is the last in a series of 10 action research reports. The research is conducted in light of the estimated two million children with imprisoned parents in the US at the time of writing and the negative circumstances many of these children can find themselves in. It considers developmental psychology and childrens' needs...
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38. Working with Families Affected by Imprisonment
This is a Community Care news article looking at Circle Scotland's project, 'Families Affected by Imprisonment'. The article details the project which was set up in 2008, helping families in Scotland maintain good contact and relationships with relatives in prison. With reference to the work that FABI has done, there is a specific focus on the support provided to female prisoners at Scotland's only female prison (HMP Cornton Vale). The article outlines the successes of the...
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39. EVERY FAMILY MATTERS: Offenders' Children and Families in Bolton
This POPS report is the result of a mapping exercise of offenders' families and support services available to them which was funded by Sure Start Children's Centres and Bolton Council in 2010. The report explores the issues and barriers these families face in accessing needs appropriate services. Research was undertaken in Sure Start Children's Centres with contributions from local schools, prison visitor centres and family forums. Findings reveal replicable models of good...
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40. Transforming Rehabilitation: a summary of evidence on reducing reoffending
This Ministry of Justice (MOJ) report summarises the approaches to offender management and evidence of how they reduce reoffending. Chapter 4.8 focuses on Developing and Enhancing Family Relationships and notes that there is insufficient but promising evidence with regard to reducing reoffending in adult, young and female offenders. See MoJ's Transforming Rehabilitation below:
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41. The support needs of offenders and their families
This report was commissioned by Revolving Doors Agency and carried out by Thames Valley Partnership. It looks at the unmet needs of Children of Offenders - focusing on these children's outcomes in their own right as opposed to focusing on reducing reoffending or intergenerational offending (as much work tends to focus on this aspect). Four case studies were developed for the research which highlights the impact of imprisonment and that pre-exisiting support needs were worsened by the...
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42. Re-unite Revisited: An Evaluation
The innovative Re-Unite South London project was set up in 2006 and resulted from a body of research evidence that demonstrated the poor outcomes of female offenders, that two thirds of women leave a child behind when they are imprisoned, that 45% of women reoffend within a year of being released and that there are huge financial costs in imprisoning women. The service was set up to support mothers and their children at the critical time of release from prison, and was evaluated in 2010....
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