Safe Families for Children Evaluation Report

This document describes an evaluation of the Safe Families program, which was established to support vulnerable families and prevent children from entering the foster care system by providing respite care, friendship, and resources. The program, which began in Chicago and was introduced to England in 2013, was assessed using a mixed methods approach, including interviews, administrative records, and a randomized control trial. The evaluation found that the program has been somewhat successful in preventing children from entering care and has expanded its volunteer base and regional reach. However, it also identified challenges such as slow adoption by local authorities, difficulties in matching families with volunteers, and handling serious cases. The evaluation suggests that while Safe Families has potential, further evidence and improvements are necessary to maximize its effectiveness. Additionally, the program has successfully prevented crises and kept children in their home environments, with carers reporting increased support and satisfaction, and children showing some potential benefits to their well-being. Despite facing challenges like funding cuts and legal ambiguities, Safe Families is considered a promising model for transforming children's services and engaging civil society, with recommendations for further development and careful application of relevant legislation. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Department for Education (DfE)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation; Process evaluation
• Impact methods: Randomised control trial (RCT)
• RCT methods: No RCT methods listed
• Process methods: Individual interviews; Other
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: July 2017

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING): No final report link found.
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes