Lower costs, more benefits: Opportunities for partnering with the Unit to improve outcomes for children

The Social Research Unit at Dartington is an independent charity working to improve outcomes for children and families. Click here to learn about three opportunities to reduce the impact of public sector cuts on children's well-being. 

It is an acknowledged leader in helping local authorities to implement evidence-based programmes with fidelity, targeted to those who need them most.
 
Improvements in the technology available to the Social Research Unit means that it is now possible to calculate, with reasonable accuracy, the impact of competing investment strategies on child outcomes and public expenditure.
 
Local authority children’s services will suffer significant reductions in expenditure over the next five years. The Social Research Unit is seeking partners to test three approaches that link lower investment with improved child outcomes.
 
The first uses local government and private sector investment in cost-beneficial evidence-based programmes to offset rising need;
 
The second provides the governance arrangements for the local authority to share financial responsibility for children with local community leaders, charities and social enterprises;
 
The third radically reduces the number of children in expensive foster care provision to support the investment in cost-beneficial evidence-based programmes.
 
In each case, the impact on child well-being and local authority budgets will be closely monitored. The initiatives all link with central government interests in:

• ·       Breaking the cycle of deprivation;
• ·       Improving the quality of evidence used to inform public sector investment decisions;
• ·       The ‘Big Society’  

Click on the following PDF attachment to learn more.