Early intervention tool reduces cost and improves outcomes, study finds

An early intervention tool used by children’s services professionals is improving outcomes for children, reducing costs and helping to overcome barriers to learning, a coalition of local authorities has found.

The Local Authority Research Consortium’s (LARC) third report has found that during 2010, 21 councils involved in the study had saved between £5,000 to more than £1,500 as a result of using the common assessment framework (CAF).

The use of CAF was also found to lead to better outcomes across a range of circumstances, including where children and young people need low-level support to large-scale multi-agency interventions.

The case studies used in the research also found that the framework helped schools to engage with learners who were at risk of under-achievement or exclusion.

Claire Easton, of research group NFER, which comiled the report, said: “LARC3 shows that the CAF can be a cost-effective tool in supporting better outcomes for individual children and young people but also their wider family members. More research is needed to look at a representative sample of CAF episodes but this work provides a useful starting point to inform service planning.”

In the foreword to the report, John Harris, director children’s services at Hertfordshire County Council and chair of the LARC steering committee, said: “The coalition government has set a new policy and financial context. Continuing to improve outcomes for all children and young people (particularly those from the poorest families) is to be achieved with a significantly reduced funding base across the public sector.”

Savings were calculated by adding the potential savings for practitioners and families that came from successful interventions that prevented negative outcomes.

The next LARC report is now underway and will examine the interaction between Team Around the Child groups and social care teams.