Mapping Innovation

We work to promote the best of Britain’s innovative justice practice.
The Sunflower Women's Centre is the first and only women's centre in Plymouth. They offer a wrap-around service for women with a range of complex needs.
Fresh Start offers support to mothers who have had one or more of their children removed through family court proceedings.
Funded by Calderdale Council, Positive Choices was founded in 2017. It is a single point of access to support and advice during pregnancy and early years for care experienced and other vulnerable young people.
Reflect offers support to parents in Swansea who have had a child or multiple children removed from their care through care proceedings.
Inspiration for Change is a parental support service in North Yorkshire to help parents who have had a child or multiple children removed from their care through care proceedings.
Mpower is a service delivered by Ormiston Families that aims to support parents who have had children removed from their care.
NEST (Nurture Empower Safe Together) is a service in Rochdale that takes a different approach to working with parents and their partners who have experienced recurrent care proceedings.
The Glasgow Youth Court is a judicially led problem solving court for 16–24-year-olds, functioning within the Glasgow Sheriff Court.
We spoke to Michael O’Connor, Swindon’s Youth and Community Transformation Lead, about their Child First approach to Youth Justice and identity development for desistance model.
Boxing Clever ​​​​​​​addresses issues such as increasing youth violence and the exploitation of young people in Milton Keynes by giving young people access to tools, support and passion for sport and aims to create a more connected community by breaking down postcode barriers.
Flourish is a therapeutic outreach service for women in Lambeth who have experience of care proceedings or the removal of a child from their care and are at risk of recurrent care proceedings.
Together for Childhood is a long-term project that uses a place-based approach in four communities to prevent child abuse.
Lifelong Links is a programme developed by Family Rights Group to connect young people in care to a support network of people who are important to them.
Family Safeguarding is a strengths-based, whole-family approach to child protection. It brings together all professionals working with a family in one multi-disciplinary team with the goal of keeping more children safely at home with their families.
This multi-agency, early intervention project, supports the well-being of vulnerable and expectant parents. The project aims to break the links between early disadvantages - social and health inequalities - and poor future outcomes for families by providing wide-ranging support.
For Baby’s Sake is an innovative programme which takes a whole family approach to breaking the cycle of domestic abuse and childhood trauma for expectant parents and babies alike.
This innovative and intensive programme supports parents, mothers and fathers, who have had children removed from their care in the past and are at risk of recurrent care proceedings.
Parenting Apart Programme (PAP), supports separated and divorced parents understand the harm and impact of entrenched conflict by helping parents to see separation through the eyes of their children.
The Best Services Trial is an ongoing trial of the New Orleans Intervention Model which aims to improve the long-term mental health and placement stability of infants in foster or kinship care through clinical intervention.
Love Barrow Families helps local families by supporting parents to address their underlying problems with the aim of reducing the numbers of children entering the care system.
FDAC is a therapeutic, problem-solving court model which aims to provide parents with intensive support to help them to address their drug and alcohol issues, and reduce the numbers of children in care.
NBFCIO is a charity in Stockport that works with parents who are involved with children’s services but have underlying issues. By addressing and building emotional resistance through the Trauma-Informed Programme, parents are able to meet their children’s needs.
REACH provides intensive multidisciplinary support to families with children who are experiencing multiple complex needs.
A Structured Deferred Sentence (SDS) is an interim disposal option established at the Hamilton and Lanark Sheriff Courts for 16-21 year olds who are not suitable for remittance back to the Children’s Hearings System.

This map charts innovative projects happening across the UK’s justice systems. You can search and filter the projects to find things that are most interesting to you.

The Centre for Justice Innovation regularly engages with practitioners to find out what’s exciting them in the world of justice. We want to know what projects practitioners are running that they are most proud of and, just as importantly, the ones a few counties away that are inspiring them.

We are expanding the map so that it not only includes innovations in criminal justice, but also in public family law and the child welfare system. We are keen to hear from practitioners from across the UK about new and exciting initiatives that we can add in all areas. If you would like your work to be included, please get in touch

Before you get in touch, please be aware that in order to be included on our map we require that your project:

  • is led by, delivered in partnership or commissioned by a statutory agency;
  • can demonstrate improved outcomes. In criminal justice, this might be for victims or service-users, or in family justice, for parents and children.
  • is innovative! By that we mean, it is trying something new in your locality or for that particular target group.