Family VOICE Workpackage 3: Natural Experiment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Family group conferencing for children and families: Evaluation of implementation, context and effectiveness (Family VOICE)
IRAS ID
316537
Contact name
Jonathan Scourfield
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
researchregistry7432, Registration with the Research Registry
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a meeting where the wider family discuss children who need support and protection and decide on a plan for them. Although a social worker will be present, most of those attending are family and friends rather than professionals – the opposite balance to that in a traditional child protection case conference.
The overall aim is to increase understanding of how well FGCs are delivered and what the benefits are for children and their families. The research questions:
- RQ1: What is the extent and nature of FGC provision for child welfare in the UK?
- RQ2: How do families/practitioners see FGCs as impacting on families and what do they think might support or hinder their effectiveness?
- RQ3: How does variation in the quality and implementation of FGCs impact on outcomes and acceptability?
- RQ4: What are the longer terms outcomes of FGCs in terms of service use, e.g. child protection involvement and health care? How do these compare with similar families who have not taken part in FGCs and what are the economic consequences of FGCs?There are three work packages. This application relates ONLY to work package 3:
Work package (WP) 1 will determine the best approach for measuring FGC quality and what factors influence outcomes.
WP2 involves working with FGC projects to invite families to complete questionnaires designed in WP1. These family members will be followed up after 12 months.
WP3 relates to research question 4 and involves following up outcomes for children and their main carers, 2 years after an FGC, using routinely collected data from social care, health and education records (no individuals identifiable in the data we receive). This information will be compared with other families with similar difficulties who have not taken part in an FGC, because this was not offered in their local authority.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SW/0144
Date of REC Opinion
25 Oct 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion