Dr Justin Rogers is a social worker by training and has a background in working with children and young people in alternative care. He has worked in fostering and adoption teams within local authorities in the United Kingdom and has experience managing a secure residential unit for young people in conflict with the law. Additionally, he has worked in an international care reform charity, serving as the Director of Programmes and subsequently as the Chief Executive Officer. In his role as Chief Executive Officer, he was responsible for nonprofit fostering services in Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand. He also led charitable projects supporting care reform in various countries, including Thailand, Madagascar, Indonesia, Croatia, Greece, and Poland. Justin previously held the position of Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Bath and continues to maintain an affiliation there as a visiting fellow in the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy.
Justin's research interests centre around child protection and alternative care. He is committed to understanding the experiences of children and young people in alternative care and amplifying their voices to inform policy and practice. Recent research projects include "Fostering Hope," a community-based participatory project that explores the perspectives of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people in Bristol. Justin also led a two-year study titled "Sharing Their Narratives" as the principal investigator, employing arts-based methods to examine the experiences of children and families in different alternative care settings in Thailand.
Publications
Rogers, J. & Thomas, I., (2024) Exploring the self-inflicted deaths of care experienced men in custody, through a lens of loss. In Robb, M. & Jones, K., Men and Loss, Routledge, Abingdon.
Rogers, J. & Ali, M. (2023) The seeds of reform; the evolution of the alternative care system in the Maldives. Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond; 10 (2).
Rogers, J., Karunan, V., Ketnim, P. & Saeli, A., (2023) ‘Doing family’ in adversity: Findings from a qualitative study exploring family practices in alternative care settings in Thailand. Children and Society.
Rogers, J., & Thomas, I. (2022) Twenty suicides of care-experienced people in custody: A scoping review of the Ombudsman’s fatal incident reports for care-experienced people who died in custodial settings between 2004 and 2020. Prison Service Journal; 258, 25-31.
Rogers, J., Whitelaw, R., Karunan, V. & Ketnim, P., (2021) A scoping review of the research that explores children’s experiences of alternative care in Southeast Asia, Children and Youth Services Review, (Online First).
Rogers, J., Carr, S. & Hickman, C., (2021) Reflections on a community-based participatory research project with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, In Eguren, J.(et al) Migrant families, children and youth, Routledge, Abingdon.
Rogers, J., & Ali, M., (2021) ‘It’s so much better than contact’; children and young people’s experiences of sibling camps in the UK. Child and Family Social Work, (Online First).
Rogers, J., & Karunan, K., (2020), Is the deinstitutionalisation of alternative care a ‘wicked problem’? A qualitative study exploring the perceptions of child welfare practitioners and policy actors in Thailand. International Social Work, 63 (5), 626-639.
Mendes, P. & Rogers, J., (2020) Young people transitioning from out-of-home care: What are the lessons from extended care in USA and England for Australia. British Journal of Social Work; 50 (5), 1513-1530.
Cheung, J., & Rogers, J., (2020) Civic crowdfunding of social work research: Opportunities, challenges and strategies. The British Journal of Social Work, (Online First).
Rogers, J., Carr, S. & Hickman, C., (2018) Mutual Benefits: The lessons learned from a community-based participatory research project with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and foster carers. Children and Youth Services Review, 92, 105- 113.
Rogers, J., (2018) Preserving and memorialising relationships: Exploring young people’s experiences of foster care through the lens of social capital. Adoption & Fostering, 42 (2), 176-188.
Rogers, J., (2017) A memorial for Beatrice Godwin, researcher, social worker and activist with older people. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 18 (1), 81 - 82.
Rogers, J., (2017) Eco-maps and Photo Elicitation, Journal of Applied Youth Studies, 1 (4), 59-74.
Rogers, J., (2017) ‘Different’ and ‘Devalued’: managing the stigma of foster care with the benefit of peer support, The British Journal of Social Work, 47 (4), 1078-1093.
Rogers, J. & Williams, T., (2016) Rejecting ‘the child’, embracing ‘childhood’: Conceptual and methodological issues for researching with children, International Social Work, 59(6), 734-744.
Rogers, J., (2015). Exploring young people’s experiences of foster care using a social capital approach: Disrupted networks and continuing bonds. Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Bath.
Rogers, J., (2014) Fostering and Adoption, In Teater, B. (EdS) Contemporary Social Work Practice: A Handbook for Students, Open University Press, Maidenhead.
Rogers, J., (2012) Anti-Oppressive Social Work Research: Reflections on Power in the Creation of Knowledge, Social Work Education, 31, 866–879.
Editorial Borad Member, Journal of Social Work Education (2023-present)
Editorial Board Member, The Journal of Social Work, Thailand, Thammasat University (2018-2022).
Visiting Researcher at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy, University of Bath (2020-present).
External Affiliate at the Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, Toronto, Canada (2018-present).
Peer reviewer for British Journal of Social Work, Child and Family Social Work, Children and Youth Services Review, Child and Family Social Work, International Social Work, Qualitative Social Work, Technology in Human Services.
Articles in Non-Academic Press
Rogers, J. (2023) ‘Doing family’ in adversity: exploring children’s and families’ experiences of alternative care in Thailand, Sociology Lens. Available at: https://shorturl.at/cdgUX
Rogers, J. (2023) Uganda's Ghetto Kids win the final of Britain's Got Talent – here's the reality of 'orphanages' around the world, The Conversation. Available at: https://shorturl.at/pqtJ8
Rogers, J. (2021) An exploration of Ukraine’s mishandling of vulnerable young people and children in state care. Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy Blog. Available at: https://bit.ly/3l2nh4W
Rogers, J., Mendes, P. & Thomas, I., (2020) Care leavers and COVID-19: A time for even greater state and community responsibility, ABC Australia, available from: https://ab.co/2LCCmb5
Rogers, J., (2019) ‘Reasons to be Hopeful: 2019 could see a welcome UN resolution for children growing up in institutional care’, The IPR Blog, available from: https://goo.gl/jouc7u
Rogers, J., (2019) ‘Sharing their Narratives’, Safe Child Thailand Blog, available from: https://rb.gy/a62fyd
Rogers, J., (2017) ‘There is space for lone refugee children in Britain, but the government isn’t trying to find it’, The Conversation, available from https://goo.gl/uUsDVY
Rogers, J., (2015) ‘The government must match public support for fostering refugees’, The Guardian, 15th September, p.42, available from: http://goo.gl/ZVjULo
Rogers, J., (2015) ‘Leaving care is hard enough without the system favouring those who are fostered’, The Conversation, available from: https://goo.gl/QKN5q4
Rogers, J., (2014) ‘Routinely separating siblings in public care is unacceptable’ [Online], The Conversation, available from: https://goo.gl/43NBCn
Rogers, J., (2014) ‘Stronger contact with previous carers would give foster children a greater sense of belonging’, [Online], The Conversation, available from: https://goo.gl/AN06Cu
Opportunities of Care at What Cost: Findings from a Qualitative Study Exploring Care Leavers Experiences of Residential Care Homes for Children in Thailand (2024)
Askew, Heather and Rogers, Justin
Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond ((Early access))
‘Doing family’ in adversity: Findings from a qualitative study exploring family practices in alternative care settings in Thailand (2023-11-03)
Rogers, Justin; Karunan, Victor; Ketnim, Pryn and Saeli, Aphisara
Children & Society, 37(6) (pp. 1754-1773)
The seeds of reform; the evolution of the alternative care system in the Maldives (2023-09)
Rogers, Justin and Ali, Mariya
Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 10(2) (pp. 154-163)
Twenty suicides of care experienced people in custody: A scoping review of the Ombudsman’s fatal incident reports for care experienced people who died in custodial settings between 2004 and 2020 (2022-01-28)
Rogers, Justin and Thomas, Ian
Prison Service Journal, 258 (pp. 25-31)
‘It's so much better than contact’: A qualitative study exploring children and young people's experiences of a sibling camp in the United Kingdom (2021-02)
Rogers, Dr Justin Mark and Ali, Dr Mariya
Child & Family Social Work, 26(1) (pp. 61-69)
Children’s experiences of alternative care in mainland Southeast Asia – A scoping review of literature (2021-01)
Rogers, Justin; Whitelaw, Robert; Karunan, Victor and Ketnim, Pryn
Children and Youth Services Review, 120
Civic Crowdfunding for Social Work Research: Opportunities, Challenges and Strategies (2020-10)
Rogers, Justin Mark and Cheung, Johnson Chun-Sing
The British Journal of Social Work, 51(7) (pp. 2782-2801)
Is the deinstitutionalisation of alternative care a ‘wicked problem’? A qualitative study exploring the perceptions of child welfare practitioners and policy actors in Thailand (2020-09-01)
Rogers, Justin M and Karunan, Victor
International Social Work, 63(5) (pp. 626-639)
Young People Transitioning from Out-of-Home Care: What are the Lessons from Extended Care Programmes in the USA and England for Australia? (2020-07)
Mendes, Philip and Rogers, Justin
The British Journal of Social Work, 50(5) (pp. 1513-1530)
[Book Review] The Child’s World (third edition): The Essential Guide to Assessing Vulnerable Children, Young People and their Families, Jan Horwath and Dendy Platt (2019-10)
Rogers, Justin
The British Journal of Social Work, 49(7) (pp. 2007-2008)
Mutual benefits: The lessons learned from a community based participatory research project with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and foster carers (2018-09)
Rogers, Justin; Carr, Sam and Hickman, Caroline
Children and Youth Services Review, 92 (pp. 105-113)
Preserving and memorialising relationships: exploring young people’s experiences of foster care through the lens of social capital (2018-07)
Rogers, Justin
Adoption & Fostering, 42(2) (pp. 176-188)
‘Different’ and ‘Devalued’: Managing the Stigma of Foster-Care with the Benefit of Peer Support (2017-06)
Rogers, Justin
The British Journal of Social Work, 47(4) (pp. 1078-1093)
Eco-maps and photo-elicitation: Reflections on the use of visual methods in social work research with children and young people (2017-02-01)
Rogers, Justin
Journal of Applied Youth Studies, 1(4) (pp. 59-74)
Memorial (2017)
Rogers, Justin M.
Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 18(1) (pp. 81-82)
Rejecting ‘the child’, embracing ‘childhood’: Conceptual and methodological considerations for social work research with young people (2016)
Williams, Timothy P and Rogers, Justin
International Social Work, 59(6) (pp. 734-744)
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Research: Reflections on Power in the Creation of Knowledge (2012)
Rogers, Justin
Social Work Education, 31(7) (pp. 866-879)
The self-inflicted death of care experienced men in custody, through a lens of loss (2025)
Thomas, Ian and Rogers, Justin
In: Jones, Kerry and Robb, Martin eds. Men and Loss: New perspectives on bereavement, grief and masculinity. Routledge Key Themes in Health and Society (pp. 124-135)
ISBN : 9781032368238 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : Oxon, UK and New York, USA
Reflections on a community-based participatory research project with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (2021)
Carr, Sam; Rogers, Justin and Hickman, Caroline
In: Montero-Sieburth, Martha; Mas Giralt, Rosa; Garcia-Arojna, Noemi and Eguren, Joaquín eds. Family Practices in Migration: Everyday Lives and Relationships (pp. 192-208)
ISBN : 9781003132561 | Publisher : Routledge
Fostering and adoption (2014)
Rogers, Justin M.
In: Teater, Barbra ed. Contemporary Social Work Practice: A Handbook for Students (pp. 27-39)
ISBN : 9780335246038 | Publisher : Open University Press | Published : Maidenhead
Sharing Their Narratives: A research project exploring children's and families' experiences of alternative care in Thailand. (2022)
Rogers, Justin; Karunan, Victor; Ketnim, Pryn and Saeli, Aphisara
Online Report