The Family Justice Data Partnership (FJDP)

Project Dates

January 2019 - June 2023

Funder

Nuffield Foundation

Project Summary

There is insufficient intelligence about how the family justice system in Wales and England is working, the children and families using these services, and their wider outcomes beyond their involvement with the family court. The Family Justice Data Partnership (funded by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory/Nuffield Foundation) has therefore been established, comprising analytical teams in the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research, Lancaster University and Population Data Science, Swansea, and a bespoke data platform – hosted within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank.

The Data Partnership aims to:

a) increase capacity and capability of researchers and data scientists utilising family justice and other relevant administrative datasets;
b) improve understanding about the family justice system using data from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) in England and Wales;
c) demonstrate the value of data linkage; and
d) assist future policy and practice development.

Cafcass (Cymru) data is collected as part of routine service delivery and planning operations, and comprises information related to private and public law family court proceedings. Researchers wishing to use Cafcass (Cymru) data held within the SAIL Databank can be supported by the Family Justice Data Partnership team. Please see the 'User Journey' document and contact us for more information.