Evaluation of the Belhaven Service Research Report

This document describes an evaluation of the Belhaven project, a joint initiative by the Priory Group and Suffolk County Council, designed to offer a new residential home service for children on the brink of care with mental health issues, aiming to reduce the need for inpatient services. The evaluation used a comprehensive methodology, including reviews of various data sources and stakeholder interviews, and found positive outcomes such as reduced hospitalizations and improved educational and family outcomes for some of the small number of participants. However, it also identified several challenges and recommended improvements in communication, discharge planning, and the addition of a family therapy outreach service. The document also assesses the impact of interventions on children and young people's mental health and social functioning across multiple case studies, using standardized tools. Results showed mixed outcomes, with some improvements in mental health and functioning, but also continued issues such as self-harm and substance misuse. The evaluation underscores the need for ongoing assessment and acknowledges limitations such as incomplete data and the lack of a comparator group. **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: Value for money evaluation; Impact evaluation; Process evaluation
• Impact methods: Theory-based methods
• Theory-based methods: Other
• Process methods: Individual interviews; Other
• Value for money methods: 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
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes