Authors
MCNEISH Diana; NEWMAN Tony; ROBERTS Helen; eds.
Title
What works for children: effective services for children and families.
Publisher
Open University Press, 2002.
Summary
With contributions from experts in the child welfare field, this book provides an overview of the best current evidence from research on 'what works' in social care services for children and families. The research reviews are helpfully laid out in sections covering services for children who are looked after away from home; interventions aimed at reducing the social exclusion of children and young people; and interventions aimed at protecting children or promoting their health. In addition to summaries of the research in these areas, this book discusses the importance of research evidence to policy and practice and includes a commentary from young people themselves.
Context
The Government has made it clear that social care services, in common with other professions, must base practice on the best evidence of what works. Major new investments in child care programmes have been accompanied by an increased emphasis on evidence based practice, particularly interventions that have been validated by research methods featuring 'before' and 'after' measurements and comparison groups. Following the lead in health care, a growing range of consortia - for example, Research in Practice, making Research Count and the Centre for Evidence Based Social Services - are making robust evidence available to an increasing number of social workers. The authors sate that this book will be of use to those working with vulnerable children, in particular social workers, teachers, youth workers and health care professionals.
Contents
The material in this volume is divided into three parts. Part one, which contains four chapters, discusses social care services for adopted and looked after children. Part two, which consists of five chapters, looks at what works in relation to social exclusion, and it suggests that a prerequisite to social inclusion in a democratic society is social engagement. Part three, which contains four chapters, reviews interventions and strategies that can reduce morbidity and mortality, focussing on three distinct but overlapping areas: the protection of children from abuse and neglect, the promotion of children's well-being through the reduction of health inequalities, and supporting families through addressing the single biggest challenge reported by parents and practitioners - how to help children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Each chapter begins with key messages that are contained within the chapter and concludes with references. The text contains a name index and a subject index.
Conclusion
"Although young people do not use the language of 'effectiveness' or 'evidence-based practice', some of their messages have a lot in common with those outlined by the contributors to this book. Many young people who have experience of the care system, for example, concur with the messages in Part 1 of this book about the importance of listening to young people and providing support during and after care. These young people and others can also speak eloquently about the experiences of social exclusion highlighted in Part 2 and many of the issues concerning health and safety in Part 3 are also echoed by young people. Of course, the views of young people, however carefully collected, are themselves only one source of evidence. To pretend that young people have all the answers would be both foolish and patronising. But they provide a source of knowledge that has frequently been overlooked and, combined with other sources, they offer an essential addition to the evidence base for practice."
860 References
ISBN 0 335 20938 6