Paul McGrath

Paul McGrath is an Associate Tutor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA). He holds a BA (Hons) in Social Work (2011) and an MA in Advanced Social Work (2016) from UEA. Since 2017, he has been a PhD Research Student at UEA's School of Social Work, investigating the experiences of special guardians caring for children when parents are unable to do so.

Before his academic career, Paul worked at Norfolk County Council Children’s Services: initially as a Social Worker in a Child Protection Team (2011-2014), then as a Senior Social Worker (2014-2015), and later as Team Manager of a Family Intervention Team (2015-2017).

His research interests focus on child welfare systems, including:

• Decision-making processes in child protection cases involving Special Guardianship Orders
• Socio-legal aspects of placing children with extended family members
• Qualitative analysis of caregiver experiences in non-parental guardianship arrangements