ABSTRACT:

The Care Pathways and Outcomes Study aimed to explore placements for all children who were under five years old and in public care in Northern Ireland on 31st March 2000 (n=374). This included foster care placements, adoption, or the placement of children with their birth parents. The study also sought to determine parents’ views on how these children were managing. The current phase of the study (2006-2009), Care Pathways and Outcomes: the Children’s Perspective, focuses on the children’s own perspectives on issues such as family, attachment relationships, self-concept, school, and sense of belonging, although the parents'/carers' perspectives were also sought.  

The book detailing the findings of this study is going to be published in May 2013 by BAAF.

ABSTRACT: 

This evaluation focused on the five therapeutic approaches developed in response to the recommendations of the Regional Review of Residential Child Care (2007) - i.e. social pedagogy, CARE, Sanctuary, MAP and ARC. When the research was commissioned, DHSSPS thought it would be possible for each trust to continue using its different local approaches, as long as each approach showed evidence of working. It also thought there might be similarities between the approaches that could form the basis of a 'core' regional training programme.

The evaluation aimed to provide a description of each approach and the reason for selecting it; details of how each approach works in practice and the resources needed to make it happen; views of stakeholders (including managers, practitioners, and children and young people) on how the approach works in practice and its effect on them; early indications of whether the approaches are effective and why early indications of whether any approaches are likely to be ineffective and why; evidence of organisational/contextual factors that help the approach or get in the way of its successful implementation and evidence of what is needed to continue the approach.

The findings of this study were published in May 2012 (see Macdonald et al., 2012). 

 ABSTRACT:

A practitioner-focused review of the COAC Best Practice Guidance with a particular focus upon the degree to which the guidance is being used as a reference tool, its perceived usefulness, and the impact that practitioners feel that the Guidance has had on Children Order Proceedings. The findings were published in this report: Larkin, McSherry & Murphy (2008).

ABSTRACT:

This study examined the direct and indirect costs that are incurred by children when social services use the courts to resolve disputes with families.

Key findings: 70% of senior social worker time spent exclusively on court work; £11/4 Million spent by Trusts in Northern Ireland on legal fees; direct cost to children of unreasonable delay in court proceedings was impeded chances of achieving permanent family placements.

Read the Final Report, and the Executive Summary.

ABSTRACT:

This study focused on the views and experiences of the carers, and an examination of how the children were doing in their permanent placements (adoption, long-term foster care, and returned home). 

The findings of this and the previous phase (Phases 1 and 2) were published in a series of tailored reports: for children/young people; for parents/carers; and for professionals.

ABSTRACT:

This phase of the study examined the care careers and placement outcomes for this cohort of children and the factors which may influence these. SOSCARE (social work administrative placement records) data and social work case file data were obtained for the population in both 2000 and 2002.