Family Drug and Alcohol Court: Service Engagement Evaluation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of Parent-to-Parent Letters to increase engagement with Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC)
IRAS ID
307129
Contact name
Jane Lewis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
What Works for Children's Social Care
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
This study assesses: (1) the impact of a set of parent-to-parent letters on families’ engagement with Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs), (2) the programme’s theory of change, and (3) the cost of FDACs.
What. The intervention consists of letters written for parents starting their FDAC journey, to be provided at three time-points throughout their involvement in the process. Each one emphasises a different key message and reflects the experiences of the individual parents who co-developed the letter, who were all FDAC graduates themselves.
Why. (1) The primary aim of the impact evaluation is to assess whether receiving the letters increases parents’ attendance at FDAC meetings and levels of engagement with the FDAC process. We will also consider broader outcomes for families in the FDAC process including the child(ren)’s placement at the end of proceedings and parental drug and alcohol misuse cessation. (2) The implementation and process evaluation will consider what is involved in using the letters in FDAC work, whether they are used as intended, and the mechanisms by which the letters impact on engagement (or if not, why not).
Who/where. The letters were developed by the Behavioural Insights team. They will be delivered by 10 FDACs to approx. 175 families. Another 175 families will be in the control group (no letter). The intervention is being evaluated by the Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI) in partnership with Bryson Purdon Social Research (BPSR).
How. (1) The impact of the intervention will be evaluated by means of a Randomised Controlled Trial. Within each participating FDAC site, families will be randomly allocated to the treatment or control group. (2) The process evaluation will be based on interviews conducted with parents and FDAC workers. (3) The evaluation will also include a simple assessment of the costs associated with the intervention.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0017
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion