Jo Dixon

Profile

 Social Work Research Interests

• Outcomes for children and adolescents in and on the edges of care
• Leaving care policy and practice
• Innovative approaches to working with vulnerable young people
• Use of mixed methods to carry out research with vulnerable young people and families including the use of RCTs in social care research and peer research methodology

Jo Dixon has carried out research on children and families at the University of Manchester and at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, University of London. Since coming to York in 2000 to join the Social Work Research and Development Unit, and later SPRU within the School for Business and Society. She has specialised in research on young people in and leaving care. This includes government funded research on the experiences and outcomes for young people leaving care in Scotland and in England and research on innovative approaches to supporting young people in contact with children’s social care including studies of preventative services for young people on the edge of care (using residential respite care); the implementation of Special Guardianship Orders; and the national evaluation of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care.  

During 2010-2014, Jo was seconded to the young people’s charity Catch22 National Care Advisory Service, as research manager where she coordinated Catch 22’s peer research studies.  This included leading a study of Corporate Parenting for young people in and from care and involved delivering research training and support to over 40 care experienced young people to carry out research interviews, analysis and dissemination.

Jo has experience of using qualitative and quantitative research methods, including RCTs and peer research approaches. She is committed to strengthening the links between research and practice by working directly with young people and practitioners and has been involved in setting up training schemes for young people leaving care.  

External work includes:

• Co-leading the evaluation of the New Belongings Project (Funded by the DfE). This involves an evaluation of a new approach to improving support and outcomes for care leavers across 27 local authorities
• Research consultant on The Siblings Together Study with the Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education at the University of Oxford. The study is evaluating a befriending project to support sibling relationships between young people in care
  
• Research consultant with University of Oxford’s Department of Education on a Nuffield funded scoping study of early year’s education for children in care, led by University of Oxford and the Family and Childcare Trust

Social Work Advisory Positions

• Editorial Board - Journal of Child and Family Social Work
• Advisory Group Member - The Princes Trust and NCB Research Centre - Action Research: From Care to Independence
• Steering Group Member - Children's Homes Project, Catch22 / NCAS. Funded by Department for Education
• Member, International Centre for Mental Health Social Research

Current Research

Full details of research studies

Child Welfare Research Group

Jo is PI and co-PI on six current research studies:

1. The evaluation of the House Project 2 for young people leaving care (DfE)

2. The evaluation of the Break Staying Close Staying Connected project for residential care leavers (DfE)

3. The evaluation of Aspiration Staying Close project for residential care leavers (DfE)

4. The evaluation of Fairways Staying Close project for residential care leavers (DfE)

5. Housing First for Care Leavers (Centrepoint)

6. Care Leavers Transitions into the Labour Market (Nuffield)

Completed Research

Full details of research studies

Child Welfare research group

• Evaluation of York Cares Bright Futures - a work experiences programme for young people in and leaving care. September 2016 – November 2017

• Supporting the Mental Health of Looked After Children: using co-production to develop a training package for children's social workers. May 2017 – March 2019

• The Step Change Evaluation: (Funded by Action for Children). This was a joint study between the Department of Health Sciences and Department of Social Policy and Social Work (SPSW) being co-led by Dr Sarah Blower and Jo Dixon. The evaluation explored the implementation and impact of social care interventions for young people in and on the edge of care across three London Boroughs. The interventions included Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and Functional Family Therapy (FFT) for vulnerable adolescents and families who are at risk of family breakdown.
  (Professors Nina Biehal and Tracey Bywater are academic consultants on this evaluation.) May 2015 – March 2016.

• The Right Home Evaluation (funded by Calderdale Council) carried out by Jo Dixon, Jenny Lee and Jade Ward (SPSW). This 10 month study evaluated the implementation and outcomes of a new accommodation and support project for young people in and at risk of entering care in Calderdale. The project involved the expansion of accommodation options for vulnerable young people on the edges of care. It operated alongside the current range of accommodation options and family support to include early intervention options using boarding school places and respite stays in a residential unit and supported options for older adolescents including intensive support and tapered support through extended foyers. June 2015 – March 2015.

• The House Project (Funded by Stoke-on-Trent Council) carried out by researchers at the Department of Social Policy and Social work. The transition from care to independent living for young people leaving foster and residential care is known to be difficult. Many care leavers take on the responsibilities of independent living aged 16 -21, much younger in comparison to young people in general who remain at home until their late twenties. Those more vulnerable care leavers embark upon this transition with the legacy of difficulties and estrangement from family, ill prepared for the challenges of managing a home, budgeting and coping with the sense of isolation that can come with living alone and remote from social and family networks. The House Project offered an innovative approach to addressing these issues. It aimed to prepare, upskill and support a group of 10 care leavers to increase their chance of positive housing outcomes post care. This involved setting up the first UK housing co-operative for care leavers using housing stock from Stoke Council. Young people involved in running the co-operative received support with independent living skills and their education, employment and training opportunities. The evaluation involved understanding how the co-operative worked in practice and on the experiences and outcomes for young people participating in the project. It is led by Jo Dixon and supported by Jenny Lee and Jade Ward. Professor. Mike Stein is academic consultant. June 2015 – March 2016.