Dr Jo Staines
B.Sc.(Soton.), M.A.(Leic.), PhD (Bristol), PGC(H)E
Expertise
Jo's expertise spans the care and criminal justice systems, the interconnections between the two for children, their families, and professionals, and the over-representation of care-experienced children in the justice system.
Current positions
Associate Professor in Youth Justice and Child Welfare
School for Policy Studies
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
Jo returned to the University of Bristol as a teaching fellow, before securing a permanent position within the School for Policy Studies. She is a Trustee of the National Association for Youth Justice.
Research interests
Jo's primary research interest is the interface between the youth justice and care systems,particularly understanding the over-representation of looked after children in the youth justice system. More broadly her research includes alternatives to custody, such as remand foster care and restorative justice interventions; adolescent foster care; and the criminalisation of children and childhood. She is author of 'Youth Justice' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and 'Care or Control? Foster Care for Young People on Remand' (BAAF, 2006). Jo was a member of the Prison Reform Trust's independent review of the over-representation of looked after children within the youth justice system, chaired by Lord Laming. Jo teaches across the BSc Childhood Studies, Criminology and Social Policy programmes within the School.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Discharge of Care Orders – a National Study
Principal Investigator
Description
Children who need care and protection are made subject to care orders giving the local authority responsibility for their care and welfare. These orders can last until children are aged…Managing organisational unit
University of Bristol Law SchoolDates
01/01/2020 to 31/12/2022
Discharge of Care Orders – a National Study
Principal Investigator
Description
Children who need care and protection are made subject to care orders giving the local authority responsibility for their care and welfare. These orders can last until children are aged…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/01/2020 to 31/12/2022
Disrupting the Routes between Care and Custody: Learning from females in the care and criminal justice systems
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Whilst only 1% of the general population have been in care, recent estimates suggest that up to 50% of children in custody have. These figures suggest a systemic failing in…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/02/2019 to 30/04/2021
Bristol City Council: Youth resilience and the resilience of youth sector organisations
Principal Investigator
Description
The research partnership was formed in 2017 between Creative Youth Network (CYN), Bristol City Council, Quartet Community Foundation and the University of Bristol. The research aim was to develop a…Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
01/09/2017 to 01/06/2022
Risk, Adverse Influence and Criminalisation
Principal Investigator
Description
Understanding the over-representation of looked after children in the youth justice system.Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/05/2015 to 30/06/2016
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
03/03/2024Factors influencing the outcomes of discharge of care order proceedings
Child and Family Social Work
Blogpost: The Discharge of Care Orders – a study of England and Wales
A Difficult Balance
Youth Justice
Confronting intergenerational harm
British Journal of Criminology
‘We need to tackle their wellbeing first’: Understanding and Supporting Care-experienced Girls in the Youth Justice System
Youth Justice
Teaching
Related people
Professor Gill Hague
Emeritus Professor
School for Policy Studies
Dr Rachel Lart
Associate Professor in Social Policy Education
School for Policy Studies
Professor Alex Marsh
Professor of Public Policy
School for Policy Studies
Dr Jessica Roy
Senior Lecturer
School for Policy Studies
Dr Beth Stone
Lecturer
School for Policy Studies