Social Work Working For Families Evaluation, Amended
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A mixed methods evaluation of the reconfigured Cambridgeshire Social Work Working For Families service, Amended
IRAS ID
137436
Contact name
Paul O Wilkinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
To date, there are few robust evaluations of the effect of service reconfigurations/reorganisations in Children’s Social Care Services upon outcomes for children, families and workers, despite how common these are.
Cambridgeshire Children’s Services are at present undergoing just such a re-organisation, and are adopting and adapting a model that was first developed in north London, which represents a significant break with past models of care delivery. In particular, the model of care being adopted organises social workers into small “units“ which include a clinician (mostly systemic family therapists); the thrust of the reorganisation is to allow social workers to boost active elements of early intervention and face-to-face working, and to address directly a broader mix of issues (including relationships, and support for “low level“ mental health vulnerabilities) rather than being in more distant and managerial relationships to families and young people. This study uses mixed methods (questionnaires, interviews with staff and clients) to explore the effects of major changes in practice on outcomes for children and families, as well as upon staff’s experience of the work. Examination of workers’ beliefs, attitudes and experiences will draw out information about whether these methods of working are more effective with, or acceptable to, certain workers than others.
Additionally, a small subset of social work units across the county will be offered an augmented training in AMBIT (a novel manualised approach, deployed to varying degrees in just under 20 settings across the UK, directed at clients sometimes classified as “hard to reach“ - with complex needs such as mental health, substance use, educational exclusion, etc). AMBIT emphasises efficient and supportive team working practices, as well as the use of basic versions of evidence based practices in outreach early interventions for mental health problems.) The study will look for evidence of added value from this approach.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
13/IEC08/0035
Date of REC Opinion
16 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion