Designing and Delivering Effective Services for Children:

1. Designing and Delivering Effective Services for Children: What, Why and How? IPSCAN Master Class September 2013

2. Contents: • What? The Task • Why? The Need • How? The Process

3. What? The Task: • Identify need; • Develop a coherent, community informed, integrated response; • Implement and oversee the quality delivery of evidence-based programmes; • Support inter-agency collaboration and outcomes focused approaches; • Evaluate evidence-informed programmes, to identify what works and what doesn’t; • Share the learning regarding programmes and processes in order to inform future policy and practice.

4. Why? Needs Assessment: • Consortium of 23 people established, including statutory and voluntary agencies and residents; • Sub groups established to examine specific issues; • External support provided through AP; • Surveys conducted: children's views; door to door survey; audit of provision; service provider survey; overall analysis: • ‘How Are Our Kids’

5. Why? Findings from ‘How are Our Kids?’ • 37% households headed by a lone parent; • 76% households have medial card (29% nationally); • 26% adults have long term illness, health problem or disability; • 41% households state benefits are the only source of income; • 65% local authority housing (7% nationally); • 39% parents report their child was bullied in school.

6. Conclusion: • Something needs to change!

7. How? Strategic Development Process: • External expertise provided through AP; • Matching needs and services process; • 2007 development of a 10 year strategy: ‘A Place for Children’; • Priority interventions were identified through a process of negotiation with stakeholders led by local consortium; • Logic model developed for each intervention; • Focus was always on outcomes.

8. Stages of Implementation: Ref: Source CES adapted , Fixsen (2005)

9. Logic Model: Meeting needs, making changes, improving outcomes.

10. CDI Programmes & Services: Community Safety Initiative Doodle Den Healthy Schools Programme Early Years ECCE Mate - Tricks Restorative Practice Programme Quality Enhancement Programme Speech & Language Therapy

11. How? Internal Change Management: • External Life Coach worked with the team for three years; • Monthly supervision and emphasis on team development; • Close working relationship between CEO and Board Chair; • Board training; • Support with strategic thinking and planning; • On-going review and enhancement of service delivery and practice.

12. How? Inter Agency Collaboration

13. How? What Worked: • Balance of formal and informal; • Clear governance structures; • Efficient and effective meetings and records; • Relationships; • Honesty; • Good coffee!

14. How? Supporting Quality Delivery: • ‘Implementation drivers’: • Stakeholder consultation and buy-in; • Resources; • Implementation teams and resources; • Staff capacity (training, supervision, coaching); • Organisational culture; • Communication; • Monitoring and Evaluation.

15. Key Elements to Promote Quality Delivery:

16. How? What Worked in Supporting Quality? • Balancing formal and informal; • Communities of practice (COP’s); • Site /practice visits; • Fidelity check lists; • Progress meetings; • Programmatic / thematic steering committees; • Supporting programme structures.

18. Conclusion: • There is considerable experience, knowledge and expertise now developed to support better outcomes for children; • There is a need for capacity building across key structures;

19. Conclusion: • Whilst we may all work hard and mean well, we haven’t always achieved our intended objectives; • Business as usual needs to change; • We have a growing knowledge of and evidence for how to do that.

20. Contact us: info@twcdi.ie marian@twcdi.ie http://www.twcdi.ie http://twitter.com/twcdi www.facebook.com/childhooddevelopmentinitiative

21. Childhood Development Initiative Meeting needs, making changes, improving outcomes.