Evidence-Based Programmes- Salvation or Fool s Gold? Achieving best outcomes for children through both evidence based and traditional programmes

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1 - Salvation or Fool s Gold? Achieving best outcomes for children through both evidence based and traditional programmes David Derbyshire Director of Practice Improvement Action for Children Louise Morpeth Co-Director Social Research Unit

2 We know the impact of what we do We have worked with our academic research partners to understand the effectiveness of all our core services and made changes to services where necessary to improve their impact. Our research bases includes: -Evaluation of Action for Children s Children s Centres (King s College London, 2011) -Backing the Future (New Economics Foundation/ Action for Children, 2009) and other SROI studies showing the cost effectiveness of children s centres, intensive family support and children in care services -Evaluation of the effectiveness of our mother and baby support services delivered at HMP Styal (Manchester Metropolitan University, 2011) -Research into the effectiveness of intensive family support services (Synergy, 2009) -Research into the impact of our innovative walking for families programme developed with the Ramblers Association (British Heart Foundation, Loughborough and Oxford Universities, 2009)

3 We know the impact of what we do Evaluation and reaccreditation of our multidimensional treatment foster care programme (York University, 2010) Current evaluation of impact and achievable cost savings through our intensive family support services (Loughborough University/ Action for Children, to be published) Research of our innovative solution to helping young people avoid crime and involvement in gang cultures (Salford University, 2009) Research into effective services to improve outcomes for young people and sustain environmental development (Action for Children, 2010)

4 We know the impact of what we do Research into the human and financial impact of our short breaks services for disabled children (Loughborough University, 2011) Identification of effective interventions in overcoming neglect (University of Salford, 2012) Growing Strong; effective ways to improve emotional well-being across our services (Action for Children, 2008) A meta-review of interventions to support children and their families in the aftermath of child sexual abuse (University of Christ Church in Canterbury, 2011) Evaluation of our innovative Black Families Adoption Service (University of Central Lancashire, 2010) Research into achieving change with vulnerable parents through development of trusting relationships (York Consulting, 2011)

5 We know our services achieve positive outcomes for children We have developed and revised a bespoke Outcomes Framework to govern the practice of our services so that we are always focused on achieving improvements We have developed the use of Report Cards in each of our services to show clearly and simply the difference made by interventions We report annually via our Impact Report on our aggregate impact. Just some examples are: - 95% of our children s centres were rated good or outstanding on their safeguarding of children - 92% of children and young people involved with our intensive family support services for troubled families were living safely with the family or in the family network - We achieved an improvement in children s emotional wellbeing in 71% of cases - 70% of children and young people involved with our services improved their ability to maintain or form a supportive relationship

6 And we know why it works We offer lasting, long-term inputs focused on developing the skills and abilities of parents and children thorough relationships with practitioners and others that provide confidence and ability to deal with life s issues. We tailor our interventions around the specific individual needs of children so that interventions are not simply programmes designed for general use but honed to particular needs. We focus on aiming to achieve specific outcomes We work in partnership with vulnerable families to build on strengths wherever possible.

7 Fool s Gold? In USA in 1848, ambition, poverty and hunger drove thousands of people to travel west in the gold rush with a need to justify the tumultuous decision to travel to USA and then across an unmarked continent, resulting in declarations of finding gold when in fact only iron pyrites had been discovered. In Indonesia in the 1990s, people celebrated sudden wealth after the discovery of the largest ever reserves of gold. However, some years alter, it transpired that the mine did not contain gold at all the rocks in the area were simply covered with gold dust brought to the mine from neighbouring areas by owners seeking to maximise profits Will we find that the lure of the outcomes achievable through evidence based programmes provide in the end to be no more than dust created by those in need of a solution to the perennial question of What Works? in the face of unending need and in the context of reduced budgets with which to commission and deliver services? Will we find there was no comfort in the guarantee of success to resolving human problems?

8 Break for Discussion

9 The Action for Children Response There is space and a need for both evidence-based programmes and other programmes which have grown through meeting local and individual need The quality of the evidence base of EBPs is incomparable because of the successive RCT experiences but we need to judge how well programmes can transfer to UK culture and working patterns where individuality has been emphasised at the expense of programme fidelity. We do therefore continue to provide locally adapted services to meet need through our children s centres and we run and develop the evaluative base for our intensive family support and short breaks services for examples.

10 The Action for Children Response Evidence-based programmes take our outcomes journey to a next level and improve the well-being of some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK. We can learn about understanding outcomes and attribution and about programme fidelity and its importance through delivery of these programmes. We now provide a number of evidence-based programmes such as: - Multi-Systemic Therapy - Functional Family Therapy - Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care - Roots of Empathy - Incredible Years - Triple P.

11 The Action for Children Response And we will develop more similar services in future. We are also innovating so that we take account of the standards of evidence when developing new services to meet new need The future is one of services backed by evidence, including but not restricted to the randomised control trial

12 For further information: Contact David Derbyshire Director of Practice Improvement Action for Children T:

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14 Good Behaviour Game Life Skills Training Nurse Family Partnership Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Curiosity Corner Success for All Reading Recovery Functional Family Therapy Big Brother Big Sisters Incredible years The Standards of Evidence are being applied to programmes from around the world that affect behaviour, mental health, pro social skills, educational attainment and physical health. The reviews are ongoing, but these are some of the programmes that are likely to reach the standard. Triple P

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16 Manchester Liverpool Luton Birmingham 2035 LAC 79,365,000 Tower Hamlets Enfield Richmond

17 FFT Results 18 Month Unadjusted Major Recidivism Percentage Control Group (N=313) Individual Therapists (N=387) Group Mean (Average) C M M M M Low Fidelity High Fidelity From: Outcome Evaluation of Washington State's Evidence-Based Programs for Juvenile Offenders, January Washington State Institute for Public Policy, Report #

18 Fixsen, D., Naoom, S., Blase, K., Friedman, R. and Wallace, F. (2005) Implementation Research: A synthesis of the Literature, Tampa, Florida, University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication #231)

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