Profile

Areas of expertise

• UK family policy
• International and comparative child maintenance policy
• Non-resident fathers 
• Childcare, Early-Education and 'Foundation Years' policy

Academic biography

Dr Christine Skinner gained a first class undergraduate degree and her Doctorate in Social Policy at the University of York. She has over 20 years experience in social policy and before that worked as a health professional in the NHS.

Christine's research interests cover two policy areas: first, child maintenance (or child support policy) where she focuses upon understanding the obligations of parents in separated families. Second, childcare and early-years policy exploring both the care and education of children under five years of age and how this relates to parents' employment needs. She has researched, presented and published on these topics at local, national and international levels and is highly regarded in both fields.

On numerous occasions, she has acted as an expert policy advisor to the Government's Work and Pensions Select Committee and advised on government funded national surveys on separated families and child maintenance policy. She also provides critical methodological advice to others in developing and operationalising both quantitative surveys and qualitative studies.

Christine has led, advised and directed influential studies in her field at national, international and Local Authority levels. She is an experienced social researcher and attracts commissions from a number of organisations including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Gingerbread, and Local Authorities.

Professional activities

• Member of the Social Policy Association (SPA)
• Fellow of The Higher Education Academy

Research

Currently, Christine is an expert academic advisor to the Department of Work and Pensions' Steering Group for 'family support services for separating and separated families' reporting directly to Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People. She is also advising two subgroups of the Steering Group, the Telephony Services and the Proposition Testing groups.   

Christine is also an academic advisor for a new national survey 'Free to choose - maintenance for single parents on benefit'. This survey is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and Gingerbread and is delivered collaboratively by NAtCen and Bryson Purdon Social Research. 

She has also won the call to provide a special issue for the European Journal of Social Security. The special issue is entitled 'Child maintenance policies in different welfare states' due for publication in January 2013. Christine will co-edit this alongside Dr Mia Hakovirta from the University of Turku in Finland and Dr Jacqueline Davidson from SPRU at the University of York. The special issue will provide a robust comparative analysis of child maintenance systems across countries including the USA, UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Iceland, Finland.

PhD supervision

• Ms Lesley Booth - Lifelong Learning and community outreach
• Mr Nurhadi - Child Labour in Indonesia
• Miyang Jun - Lone parents' transitions to work
• Rachel Thwaites - Marriage and selfhood: the impact of naming on identity
• Melanie Barnes - Reciprocity: negotiating child maintenance and contact
• Lok Yi Wong - Comparing work-life balance policies in East Asian welfare states

Supervision interests

Family policy; child maintenance (child support) policies; non-resident fathers; lone mothers; symbolic meanings of money; child well-being; childcare, early-education and 'foundation years' policy; marriage and cohabitation; parenting and work-life balance. 

Publications

Skinner, C. (January 2012) 'Analysis of the Government's response to the Work and Pensions committee's report on child maintenance policy' in The House Magazine.

Skinner, C. (2011) ‘Childcare and early years’ in Bradshaw, (ed), The Well-being of Children in the UK, Third Edition, Bristol: The Policy Press, pp.213-234.

Meyer, D.R., Skinner, C. and Davidson, J. (2011) 'Complex families and equality in child support obligations: A comparative policy analysis' in Children and Youth Services Review, 33 (2011) p 1804–1812.

Andrews, S., Armstrong, D., McLernon, L., Megaw, S., and Skinner, C. (2011) Promotion of Child Maintenance: Research on Instigating Behaviour Change, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission  Research Report no, 1, Leeds: Corporate Document Centre.

I. Curry-Sumner and C. Skinner, (Eds) (2009) Persistent Problems, Finding Solutions: Child Maintenance in The Netherlands and the UK. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.

Skinner, C. (2009) ‘Understanding Willingness to Pay Child Support’ in Persistent Problems, Finding Solutions: Child Maintenance in The Netherlands and the UK. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.

Skinner, C. and I. Curry-Sumner (2009) ‘The UK child Support Policies: Principles and Formulae’ in Persistent Problems, Finding Solutions: Child Maintenance in The Netherlands and the UK. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.

Skinner, C. and Davidson, J. (2009) ‘ Recent Trends In Child Maintenance Schemes in 14 Countries’, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, January 2009.

Skinner, C., Bradshaw, J. and Davidson, J. (2008) Child Support Policy: An international perspective (Chapter 1), Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper, No. 478, Luxembourg Income Study, Luxembourg.

Skinner, C. Bradshaw, J. and Davidson J. (2007) Child support policy: An International Perspective, DWP Research Report No. 405, Leeds: Corporate Document Services. Available online [PDF].

Skinner, C. and Finch, N. (2006) ‘Lone Parents and Informal Childcare: A Tax Credit Childcare Subsidy?’ in Journal of Social Policy and Administration , 40, 2006, 807-82.

Skinner, C. and Meyer, D. (2006) After All the Policy Reform, Is Child Support Actually Helping Low-Income Mothers? In Benefits, Vol 14, No. 3.

Skinner, C. (2006) Childcare and Child Poverty, Online Working Paper for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available via the Joseph Rowntree Foundation [PDF].

Skinner, C. (2005) ‘Co-ordination Points: A Hidden Factor In Reconciling Work And Family Life’ in Journal of Social Policy Vol. 34/1, pp 99-121, January 2005.

Bell, A., Finch, N., La Valle, I., Sainsbury, R. and Skinner, C. (2005) A Question of Balance: Lone Parents, Childcare and Work, London: DWP Research Report No 230, Leeds: HMSO. Available online [PDF].

Skinner, C. (2005) ‘Childcare’ in Bradshaw, J. and Mayhew, E. (eds), The Well-being of Children in the UK, Second Edition, London: The Save the Children Fund (UK), 10, pp.221-238.

Skinner, C. (2003) Running Around in Circles: Coordinating Childcare Education and Work, Bristol: Policy Press. Available via Joseph Rowntree Foundation [PDF].

Skinner, C. (2002) ‘Childcare Provision' in Bradshaw, J. (ed) The Well-being of Children in the UK, London: The Save the Children Fund (UK), Chapter 11, pp.167-187.

Skinner, C. Fathers, maintenance and contact, Nemesis, nr 1, 2002, 5-13.

Skinner, C. and Bradshaw, J. Non-resident fathers, child support and contact, Benefits, 27, 2000, 5-8.

Bradshaw, J. and Skinner, C. Child Support: the British fiasco, Focus, 21, No. 1, 2000, 80-86.

Skinner, C. and Ford, J. (2000) Planning, Postponing or Hesitating: Understanding Financial Planning, York: Centre for Housing Policy.

Bradshaw, J., Stimson, C., Skinner, C., and Williams, J. (1999) 'Absent Fathers?’: London: Routledge, pp. 232.