
Jess Grace Jackson is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work and currently the programme leader for the BA (Hons) Applied Social Work at the University of Derby. She is responsible for the overview of the regulated undergraduate Social Work programme. Prior to joining the University, Jess has been a practising social worker in a range of settings and still works as an independent social worker today. She is module leader for Domestic Abuse on the BA, Contemporary Issues in Social Work on the MA and teach across other modules on the programmes. Jess's professional interests include the impact of developmental trauma throughout the life cycle, systemic and multi-professional working, trauma informed care and supervision, domestic abuse and gender based violence. She is also an expert witness for domestic abuse work in the family courts providing comprehensive risk assessments of perpetrators to assist in decision making for children. Jess's research interests include gender bias in family courts and the re-victimisation of domestic abuse survivors through child protection and the family courts. she is currently studying an MSc in Attachment Theory, Research and Practice, and is a member of Social Work England. Jess has worked in social care since 2006, starting as a volunteer for women's aid and becoming a qualified social worker in 2011. She has managed multi-professional teams in mother and child residential, child development services and at Pause, working with women subject to recurrent care proceedings and child removals. Her focus over the last four years has been implementing evidence-based services.