Project CAMEO began as an extension of work exploring Child Impact Assessments, through a pilot called the Family Connections Project.

The Family Connections Project seeks to give mothers facing sentencing the opportunity to talk about their children’s needs if they were to be sent to prison. Mothers can then agree for their children to complete their own Child Impact Assessment, offering children a chance to speak about what their mum’s imprisonment might mean for them, and what support they might need if that situation arises.

These assessments become part of the mother’s pre-sentence court report, shared with judges or magistrates to help inform family-aware sentencing decisions, that balance the risk to the family Vs the risk to the wider community. However, early findings showed that children’s needs were often represented through their mother’s perspective, and many children were unaware that their mother had an upcoming court date.

This highlighted a different kind of ga, not just in service provision, but in research and understanding. Very little is known about the needs and lived experiences of mothers and their children before a sentencing decision is made, despite this being a period filled with uncertainty, fear, and limited support.

Project CAMEO was developed to address this gap in knowledge by shifting focus from the use of Child Impact Assessments to exploring the pre-sentencing period itself: the time between arrest and sentencing. The project seeks to understand how this period is experienced by both mothers and young people, and what forms of support they feel are needed during such an emotionally charged and often hidden stage in the criminal justice process.

Families make complex decisions about whether, when, and how to talk to children about parental criminal justice involvement. For some, it feels safer not to tell; for others, that choice is taken away, perhaps by remand, external pressure, or circumstance. Children, in turn, may learn about their family’s situation in many different ways, including through social media or peers.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that children should have a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Yet when a parent becomes involved in the criminal justice system, those same rights and considerations often disappear. Unlike children involved in family court proceedings or youth offending services, these children are rarely acknowledged, let alone supported, during the pre-sentence stage.

Existing research largely focuses on the aftermath of imprisonment or the process of leaving prison. Our current understanding suggests that many children, who were not present at the arrest or included in their parents case, become aware of their parent’s situation once a prison sentence is already in place. Support systems for children generally begin after sentencing, leaving a critical gap in understanding, recognition, and service provision during pre-sentencing stages.

Project CAMEO aims to explore this gap. By listening directly to mothers and young people, the project seeks to better understand their experiences and co-create ideas for what meaningful, early support could look like. Support that recognises both the rights of children and the realities faced by mothers navigating the criminal justice system.

If you have any questions about the project, I’d be very happy to answer them. You can contact me by email using the link at the bottom of each page on this website.

I’d also be grateful if you could share this website with anyone who might be interested in the topic or who may wish to take part in Project CAMEO.

Thank you so much for your time and support.