Over surveilled, yet misunderstood

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Over surveilled, yet misunderstood

• Measuring What Matters to Children in Care

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nef (new economics foundation)
nef is an independent think tank that has a track
record of 20 years of positive thinking and
insightful answers
Happy Planet Index, Jubilee Debt Campaign, Inner
City 100, Clone Town Britain, Social Accounting
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Why Measuring What Matters

• There are too many rules - sometimes it feels
  like life is run by policies and procedures. It
  feels like being in care is pushed in your face
  all the time you are constantly reminded that
  you live in a care home
• (Young person in care)
• Measuring What Matters grew out of a desire to
  promote decision making that is participative,
  responsive and focused on bringing about a more
  just and sustainable society

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Social Return on Investment

• SROI seeks ways to make the invisible value of
  things essential to our well being visible
  and measurable. It
• Involves key stakeholder
• Measures what is important, rather than easy
  to measure e.g. well-being
• Integrates service delivery and research
  evaluation functions
• Takes a view on what would have happened
  anyway

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Critique of Existing Measures

• Measure the right things
• Use the measures for the right purposes
• Measure with people
• Measure assets and strengths, as well as needs
  an deficits
• Gather the right level and types of information
• Measure the difference made

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The story of how change should happen
Inputs
Outputs
Outcomes
Activities
B E T T E R T R A N S I T I ON S F ROM C A
R E
Positive engagement with services and staff
Improved personal and social well-being
Sufficient investment in education, health and
wellbeing
Psychotherapeutic services 11 support
Participation in sports and extra-curricular
activities
Improved psychological and emotional health
Social events Innovative ways to engage
YP Support relationships with birth families
Stable Placements
Ability to form and maintain healthy
relationships
Well-trained, committed staff
Attendance in appropriate education, or training
Stability
Increased no of hours spent working directly with
the child
Progress in education
Wrap around services Legal advice Independent
advocates
Child-centred model of care
YP make and keep own appointments Improved
access to services
Improved physical health
Skills domestic, budgeting, cooking, problem
solving, Social, basic skills literacy, numeracy
Physical health information Sexual health
information Sex education
Young persons own skills and abilities
Autonomy and control
Safe environment Ability to recognise unsafe
situations Less contact with the CJS
Involved in all aspects of decisions about their
lives
Increased safety and reduced offending
Long-term planning and commitment to the child
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Ways of knowing that change has happened
Well-being
Progress in education and skills/Stability
Autonomy and control
Mental health
Physical health
Relationships/Stability
Safety and Offending
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Emerging Findings

• Value generated by smaller, niche providers
• Institutionalised negativity within care system
• What a new measurement system and set of
  indicators might look like
• Potential for SROI to aid decision-making in this
  area

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What the research will come up with

• A critique of existing measures
• A clearer idea of the outcomes that matter for
  children in care, and a new set of indicators
  that reflect this
• Estimates of the full economic and social
  costs and benefits of different models of care
• Series of tools/training for providers
  outcomes star and diagnostic tool for
  measuring child-centredness

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Next Steps

• Publication completed late 2007
• Launch dissemination January 2008
• Tools for measuring what matters published
  separately

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Quote from young person

• They wanted to move me to London just before my
  GCSEs and they had to fight hard to keep me here.
  They do this because of money they see you as
  money. I ended up doing well in my GCSEs but
  might as easily not have. Staff are not in it for
  cash but a lot of the system is. Lots of them
  want to change things for the better and it is
  frustrating for them as well

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Further Information

• Eilís Lawlor
• eilis.lawlor_at_neweconomics.org
• 0207 8206361
• new economics foundation (nef)
• www.neweconomics.org