Exploring the barriers and enablers to effective engagement with care leavers.

Aims and Objectives:

The aim is to explore What are the key barriers and enablers for engagement with care leavers? The results of this analysis will have generalisabilty for multi-agency services engaging with and supporting the needs of care leavers. In addition, the aim is to evaluate how much social value is generated by adopting the new engagement framework and toolkit with care leavers, in particular the influence of the new model on targeting resources and achieving the wellbeing outcomes of care leavers accessing services.

Background:

Little is known about the ‘lived experiences’ of care leavers in terms of the enablers and barriers to accessing multi-agency services, including the social isolation, stigma and shame experienced when labelled a ‘care leaver’. The sense of being understood and listened to are regarded as key elements to promoting a good relationship with care leavers (Stein & Wade, 2000). It is indicated that young people have voiced their wish for better communication from services (Children’s Commissioner, 2017), but there is limited evidence of what an effective engagement model looks like in practice.

There is a pressing need to evaluate engagement with care leavers to determine the uses and limitations of multi-agency engagement, to measure the effectiveness and understand how the most effective elements can be replicated and implemented as part of an engagement practice model and toolkit. Gaining a robust sense of how care leavers understand and conceptualise the uses and limitation of the PA, social worker role and other key agency roles will assist in fostering a better understanding of their engagement needs, including their rationale for engagement and non-engagement or disengagement with services. Highlighting some of these issues can also focus not only the barriers experienced by young people but also the barriers experienced by professionals. This proposal directly addresses these issues and has reach across and beyond Wales.

Design:

Four work-streams are planned:

WS1: Rapid review of literature and co-production of project in partnership with key stakeholders and care leavers.

WS2: Qualitative stage: Focus groups and interviews with care leavers and professional stakeholders.

WS3: Production of a practice model focused on creating an engagement framework and toolkit.

WS4: A social return on investment analysis of operationalising the use of the practice framework and toolkit.

Public involvement:

A Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group has already been formed. Care leavers have been consulted as part of the process and have shared their wish to be part of the project advisory group and the project steering group. Key stakeholders, including the Heads of Children Services of four participating local authorities and key multi-agency partners across these areas have agreed to be members of the project steering group.

Dissemination:

The research team will organise a national symposium to present findings to targeted policy audiences such as the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Minister for Health and Social Services, senior members of participating local authority areas and other key multi-agency partners. Findings will also be published in an open-access journal, and be presented at national and international conferences e.g. European Conference for Social Work.