Title | Impact of Family Group Conference referrals at pre-proceedings stage on child outcomes: A randomised controlled trial |
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Type | Journal article |
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Authors | Dorsett, R. |
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Abstract | Previous evidence on the impact of Family Group Conferencing in the UK cannot establish causality. This paper presents results from the first UK randomised controlled trial of Family Group Conferences. All families entering pre-proceedings between September 2020 and May 2022 in 21 local authorities in England were eligible for inclusion in the trial. In total, 1,511 families were randomised and child outcomes were collected from administrative data until up to 21 months post-referral. Half of families were randomly allocated to be referred for a Family Group Conference, on top of usual practice during pre-proceedings. The (pre-registered) primary outcome is the child’s looked after status 12 months after the pre-proceedings letter. This was 8.6 percentage points lower among referred families (36.2% vs 44.8%). Children were also less likely to have care proceedings issued (59.2% vs 71.7%) and spent less time in care (87 vs. 115 days). However, there was no significant difference in whether a child’s living arrangement remained the same or changed in the months after the decision. These findings have implications for support given to families during pre-proceedings; they provide evidence in favour of Family Group Conferences as a way to reduce the chances of children going into care. |
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Keywords | Child protection |
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| court proceedings |
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| decision making |
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| Family Group Conferencing |
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| pre-proceedings |
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| randomised controlled trial |
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Journal | British Journal of Social Work |
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Journal citation | 54 (6), pp. 2358-2377 |
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ISSN | 0045-3102 |
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| 1468-263X |
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Year | 2024 |
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Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
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Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
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Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae035 |
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Publication dates |
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Published online | 13 Apr 2024 |
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Published in print | Sep 2024 |
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Funder | What Works for Children's Social Care |
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