Dr Tracee Green

Dr Tracee Green is Head of the Centre for Child Protection (CCP) at the University of Kent’s School of Social Sciences. A registered social worker with over 14 years of frontline experience, she has worked extensively with families navigating complex challenges—including care proceedings and the Public Law Outline (PLO). Her practice focused on expert parenting capacity assessments, systemic interventions, and direct support in collaboration with parents navigating challenges linked to learning disabilities, mental health needs, experiences of domestic abuse, and substance misuse.

Since joining the University of Kent in 2016, Dr Green has led transformative work in child protection education. She played a leading role in the development and implementation of the Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship (SWDA) programme and served as Course Lead for three years before stepping down to focus on other academic and research roles. She continues to lead and support teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in social work and child protection, convening core modules and delivering innovative, experiential training for multidisciplinary safeguarding professionals.

Dr Green’s research centres on forensic parenting assessments, trauma-informed practice, and the development of creative, simulation-based approaches to safeguarding education. Her PhD in Social Policy and Social Work, titled Forensic Parenting Assessments Using PAMS and Better Outcomes, employed a mixed-methods design to evaluate professional perceptions and applications of the Parenting Assessment Manual Software (PAMS) in forensic settings.

She was Principal Investigator on an ESRC-funded study, conducted in collaboration with Kent Police, exploring trauma-informed policing responses with sexually exploited girls—a project that exemplifies her commitment to evidence-informed, impactful work. She is currently Co-Investigator on a national trial evaluating Multi-Systemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect and has also worked as Co-Investigator on REPHRAIN-funded research focused on safeguarding young people from online harms.

Dr Green maintains a strong interdisciplinary ethos and continues to innovate in child protection teaching and research. Her work blends academic rigour with practical relevance, underpinned by a deep commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families. She currently supervises four PhD students researching various areas of child protection.

Dr Green convenes the “Social Work with Children and Families” module across the full range of social work programmes (SWKX5006, SWKX5160, SOCI7160, SOCI9180), as well as “Lifespan Development” on the Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship (SWKX4003), and Social Work in a Multiagency Context (SWKX6107). Additionally, she contributes to teaching on the MA in Advanced Child Protection and supervises dissertation students on this programme (SOCI9950).

Awards and Honours

Dr Green’s contributions to safeguarding practice, education, and research have been recognised through numerous awards:

• Home Office’s Joint Security and Resilience Centre Academic Innovation Award – Highly Commended (2025)
• ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize – Finalist (2024)
• Strategic Prevention Head of Command Award, Kent Police (2023)
• Public Engagement and Impact Award, University of Kent (2022)
• Public Engagement and Impact Award, BERA (British Educational Research Association) (2021)
• University of Kent Teaching Prize – Highly Commended for innovative, collaborative practitioner-based learning (2021)
• HEA Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) (2017)