Existing experiences of integrating services give new insight for Scotland’s proposed children’s services reform
The first findings of a unique research project into models of reforming children’s services have been published today by CELCIS, the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection.
This first report for the Children’s Services Reform Research study is of the review CELCIS has undertaken of existing published national and international academic research which explores a wide range of examples where integrated approaches and practices have been introduced in the context of the needs of children and their families.
87 sources of qualitative and quantitative research were reviewed from a countries across the world, published over 11 years from 2011 to 2022, with the researchers focusing on what models of integration there are for the delivery of children’s social work services with health and/or adult social care services in high income countries, and what strength of evidence there is about these models’ effectiveness in improving services, experiences and outcomes for children, young people and their families. The researchers found:
- A lack of evidence of models of systems-level integration
- That integration should be viewed as an outcome of a range of components
- A shared culture with committed leadership at all levels should be valued as important
- Professionals need appropriate support, resources, and time during the process of integration
- Supporting and supportive relationships between professionals and people who need the support of services, as well as between professionals, are vital to integration
- Holistic practice which views the needs of children and their families in the round is important
- More evidence is needed about the impact of integration on the rights of people needing the support of services
- The importance of involving children and families needing the support of services in the design and implementation of integration
- There’s a complex relationship between integration and outcomes
The Scottish Government asked CELCIS to undertake this research in 2022, overseen by an Independent Steering Group, to improve understanding of the current service delivery models in Scotland and internationally and their effectiveness in supporting the needs of children and their families. The work is designed to inform the Scottish Government’s decision about the future of children’s services in the light of the proposed introduction of the new National Care Service, and aligns with the commitment to keep The Promise of the Independent Care Review.
Dr Heather Ottaway, CELCIS’s Head of Evidence and Innovation, who is leading the research, said:
“These first findings provide us with a very useful picture of the integration landscape nationally and internationally in children’s services over the last decade and what factors to tune into as we continue this research. Crucially, as well as enabling us to see what evidence is available concerning the integration of children’s services with adult services, it’s possible to see what evidence is missing.
“What is clear from this review of the literature available is that what matters for children, young and families needing support is the relationships they have with the people who work in the services to support them, and that professionals also need time and capacity to build effective relationships between them.”
Chair of the research’s independent steering group, Professor Brigid Daniel, Professor Emerita at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, said:
“The decision about the future of children’s services, in the light of the introduction of a National Care Service for adult services, has to be informed by the best possible evidence. The publication of this review marks the first stage of research and there is still some way to go in this comprehensive study. Further reports will be published in due course culminating in a final report that will bring all the evidence together to explore how best to ensure that children, young people and families get the help they need when they need it.”
The review is the first of four reports to be published before a full final report with analysis later this year. A report on the second strand of the study’s work which looks at six case studies of transformational reform programmes will be published later this month, followed by the third strand of the research later this summer, a statistical analysis mapping integration and outcomes across Scotland. A report on the experiences and views of the Children’s Services workforce in Scotland will be published in the autumn. The research study is due to conclude in October (2023) when the final report with analysis will be published and provided to Scottish Ministers.