Project Crewe Research Report

This document describes an evaluation of Project Crewe, a pilot program designed to improve outcomes for children in need (CIN) by providing intensive, personalized support through a new model involving Social Work Consultants and non-social work qualified Family Practitioners. The program aims to reduce re-referrals to social care and escalations to child protection by employing methods such as Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFA). A mixed-method evaluation, including a randomized controlled trial and qualitative interviews, was conducted to assess the program's effectiveness. While results showed a potential for more effective case closures and a reduction in risk scores, they were not statistically significant due to small sample sizes. Qualitative feedback underscored the value of the Family Practitioner role and the program's approach. The evaluation also considered the staffing model, cost-benefit analysis, and long-term economic impacts, noting challenges in communication, case escalation processes, and data collection. Despite these challenges, the evaluation found promising signs of impact and recommends further research with larger samples to validate the findings. **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: Randomised control trial (RCT)
• RCT methods: No RCT methods listed
• Process methods: Individual interviews
• Value for money methods: Cost-benefit analysis
• 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