About this Event
Join us on 17th November 2026 at room Q113 at the UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business for a seminar titled English and Irish Perspectives on Gypsies, Roma and Travellers as Foster Carers: Kinship Care, Epistemic Justice and Restorative Social Work.
Presenters: Allison Hulmes (Swansea University), Peter Unwin (University of Worcester), Jackie Bolton, Josie O'Driscoll, and Joe McInerney (Gypsy and Traveller Empowerment, Hertfordshire).
(Allison Hulmes and Jackie Bolton are co-founders of the Romani & Traveller Social Work Association).
This seminar brings together academic, professional, community and lived-experience perspectives to explore fostering, kinship care and child welfare systems affecting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and families in England and Ireland.
Part One will present current evidence and emerging findings from English research, including the British Association of Social Workers-funded Gypsies, Roma and Travellers – Right to Foster project, and ongoing the Foundations-funded Kinship Matters: Exploring Voices in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Communities. Drawing on participatory, co-produced, and culturally informed methodologies, speakers will examine barriers to fostering, overreliance on ‘out-of-culture’ placements, and the implications for ethnic identity, belonging, and family life within Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities.
Part Two will explore responses to these challenges through community-led and restorative approaches. The session will introduce the ROMA Model (Reflection, Objective, Movement and Action), a restorative justice-informed and anti-racist framework for social work practice developed through collaboration with Romani and Traveller communities. The discussion will consider how community expertise, epistemic justice, and culturally responsive practice can contribute to more equitable outcomes for children and families, as well as opportunities for learning across Irish and English policy and practice contexts.
The seminar will conclude with an open discussion to compare Irish and English experiences of fostering, kinship care, restorative practice and social work's role in advancing inclusion, equity and cultural justice for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Event venue & nearby stays
UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business, Room Q113, Dublin 4, Ireland
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