Abstract

Quality Matters in Children's Services brings together authoritative research to explore critical concerns for those working with vulnerable children, young people and their families. Subjects covered include reunification, stability and wellbeing, kinship care, educating vulnerable young people, child protection, domestic violence and parental substance misuse, the participation of disabled young people and advocacy services.

Mike Stein discusses key issues for policy and practice in the development of quality services including identifying and sustaining quality through involving stakeholders, integrated working and quality services, the development of policies, procedures and organisational processes and carrying out quality assessments, training and workforce reform.

This book is essential reading for practitioners, senior staff, commissioners, managers and anyone involved in developing quality children's services.

this book collates a lot of the recent research into what works in various areas of children's services into one easily accessible volume.
Rostrum
Mike Stein is a research professor in the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York. He has researched the problems and challenges faced by young people leaving care for 25 years. He contributed to guidance and training materials on leaving care for the Children Act 1989 and the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. He has published extensively in the field and has been consulted by government, local authorities and voluntary organisations on the development of leaving care services in the UK and internationally.
The content, issues and questions raised in this publication have relevance not only for children's social care but also for practitioners, managers and commissioners across Children's Trusts. As with previous publications in this series I find the presentation of research evidence in this type of overview format to be really useful. It offers information in an easy to digest way alongside both analysis and discussion of key implications for practice. The incoporation of the "Questions" sections encourages some real interaction with the text. It also offers a helpful tool for readers at different levels in organisations to consider how the quality of their service might improve to bring about better outcomes. What I particularly like about this publication is the fact that a real effort seems to have been made to link the research to the current children's services context. I also liked the fact that additional materieals have been produced and made freely avaliable designed to help promote and support the implemenation of the key messages into practice.
Research, Policy and Planning