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A baseline study of outcome indicators for early years policy in Scotland: final report
- Authors:
- WASOFF Fran, et al
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Executive
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 173p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
In Scotland a range of policies aimed at improving children’s health, development, and ability to learn, and to support and strengthen families and communities have been introduced. The focus of these policies for the early years is to give children under 5 the best start in life, with an emphasis on reaching the most vulnerable. Since 2002, there has been a move towards an integrated approach to policy and service planning and delivery.
The impact of guides on practice and the quality of service: Social Care Institute inaugural international seminar: London, 13 December 2002
- Author:
- MULLEN Edward J.
- Publisher:
- Edward J. Mullen
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 19p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The author argues that there are three key lessons of importance to this seminar’s topic. First, it has been most difficult to bridge the gap between the world’s of research and of social care policy and practice. A second lesson is that outcomes matter. Both in North America as well as in the United Kingdom, health and social programmes are now required to provide evidence of effectiveness. Gone are the days when policies and programmes can stand without evidence of value for cost. A third lesson is that it is dangerous to proceed in research (or for that matter in policy or programme development) without acquiring good evidence about what actually occurs in practice. What is assumed about what practitioners do as well as what users and carers experience is oftentimes off the mark.
How self directed support is failing to deliver personal budgets and personalisation
- Authors:
- SLASBERG Colin, BERESFORD Peter, SCHOFIELD Peter
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 29(3), 2012, pp.161-177.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
In this article, the authors suggest that the drive to create personalised services through self-directed support and personal budgets was implemented before the model was fully tested. Its implementation was announced before completion of a national evaluation set up by the Government. One advantage of such speedy, widespread implementation is that we are now beginning to have substantial evidence regarding its efficacy. At the same time, the UK is the on the cusp of new legislation likely to shape social care for the foreseeable future. It is essential that legislation takes on board what the evidence says about this model. The authors suggest that the concepts of personalisation and personal budgets associated with it may retain value if interpreted in an appropriate way, delivered through an appropriate strategy. Then even so long as resources fall short of needs, they are likely to ensure the best possible outcomes for service users are secured. (Publisher abstract)
Dementia 2012: a national challenge
- Author:
- ALZHEIMER'S SOCIETY
- Publisher:
- Alzheimer's Society
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 80p.
- Place of publication:
- London
There are now 800,000 people with dementia in the UK and there are estimated to be 670,000 family and friends acting as primary carers. Given the numbers of people with dementia and the rising costs, it is vital to understand how well people are living with the condition. This report, the first in a series of annual reports, explores how well people are living with dementia in 2012 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The key findings of the report are based on an Alzheimer’s Society survey completed by people living with dementia and a YouGov poll of the general public. The report focuses on the outcomes important to people with dementia and carers, as described in the Dementia Action Alliance National Dementia Declaration. It acknowledges that there is work being undertaken to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. However, it also shows that at the current time people are still not living well with the condition. The report argues that there must be a major shift in societal awareness and understanding about dementia, and a move towards the development of dementia friendly communities.
‘What counts is what works’? New Labour and partnerships in public health
- Authors:
- PERKINS Neil, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Policy and Politics, 38(1), January 2010, pp.101-117.
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
Partnership working has been a central feature of New Labour's approach to the delivery of health and social policy since 1997. A number of partnership-based initiatives have centred on reducing health inequalities and improving health. This article reports on the findings from a systematic review of the impact of partnership working on public health, and considers whether these partnerships have delivered better health outcomes for local or target populations. The types of partnerships identified by the search and reviewed are: Health Action Zones, Health Improvement Programmes, Healthy Living Centres, New Deal for Communities, and the National Healthy School Standard. This review finds that there is little evidence that partnerships have produced better health outcomes for local or target populations or reduced health inequalities, and concludes that the time has come for an assessment of not merely the alleged benefits of partnership working but also their limits.
Mainstreaming equality: the implications for disabled people
- Author:
- WITCHER Sally
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 4(1), January 2005, pp.55-64.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Mainstreaming equality involves integrating equality considerations from the outset into how an organization operates, its policies and practices. Whether this works to the advantage of disabled people depends critically on the quality of understanding of equality issues for different groups. This paper begins by clarifying goals for social justice, social inclusion and equality and then considers the salience of disabled people as a social category. It briefly reviews different equality strategies, before focusing on mainstreaming and its potential to promote cultural change and socially just distribution. An analytical framework to support mainstreaming is outlined. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of disabled people's involvement with mainstreaming equality if outcomes are to promote social justice.
Research, policy and practice: worlds apart?
- Authors:
- LOCOCK Louise, BOAZ Annette
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 3(4), October 2004, pp.375-384.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The relationship between research, policy and practice remains a contested area. This article explores pressures for researchers to make their work more useful and relevant to policy and practice, and for practitioners to undertake research. Whilst there are clearly areas of mutual interest and benefit, we argue that the research, policy and practice communities also have distinct traditions, skills and obligations which should be recognised and valued rather than artificially suppressed. Narrow conceptions of research utility constrain the debate about what each community has to offer and how best to communicate with each other across borders.
Learning from experience in family support programmes: a preliminary review of three related initiatives
- Author:
- CARRILIO Terry E.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy Journal, 2(2/3), 2003, pp.5-25.
- Publisher:
- Haworth Press
- Place of publication:
- Binghamton, New York
This paper describes three related California family support programme initiatives representing field experiments in programme development and policy related to reducing adverse outcomes for vulnerable families through replicating known "best practices" models...The ways in which the three initiatives were affected by the context of implementation are used to demonstrate the difficulty both of identifying the "best" programme models and the need for leadership at all levels in order to develop programs and policies, which achieve the intended effects. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
Introducing the Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Author:
- BRAND Don
- Journal article citation:
- MCC Building Knowledge for Integrated Care, 10(1), February 2002, pp.27-31.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
This article considers SCIE's origins, role and functions, and how its work relates to that of other organisations, including the new framework of regulatory bodies in social care. It underlines the importance of user- participation in all aspects of SCIE's work.
The influence of research on policy: how do they relate?
- Author:
- BULMER Martin
- Journal article citation:
- Research Policy and Planning, 3(2), 1985, pp.13-18.
- Publisher:
- Social Services Research Group
Applied social science research strives to be useful, but how does it actually impact upon policy? This article reviews recent British literature on the relation between research and policy, which points to patterns of diffuse rather than specific influence. Models of the policy-making process are then considered, and the limits of the rational model highlighted. The article ends with a discussion of the implications for the practice of social services research.