The involvement of people with lived experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of services has grown significantly in recent years. In parallel, the evidence base for best practice in peer research, as this approach is described, is also expanding. Sharing two practice examples, the authors reflect on key learning emerging from their…

The Program of Intervention for Prevention of Institutionalization (P.I.P.P.I.) is a programme that integrates research, training, and intervention in working with families living in vulnerable situations. It is funded by the Italian Ministry of Welfare and, since 2011, has cumulatively involved roughly 8000 professionals from Social and Health…

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common childhood disorders requiring comprehensive and coordinated care over time. This study aimed to add knowledge about health, educational and social services received by children and families throughout early childhood, with special attention on coordination services provided. Methods: The…

There is an increasing expectation that children, young people and their parents should participate in decisions that affect them. This includes decisions about their health and social care and collective or public decisions about the way in which such services are designed, delivered and evaluated. Indeed this has become a policy priority across…

The Barnardo's Participation Project, previously known as the Disabled Children and Young People's Participation Project, was established by Barnardo's (Northern Ireland) in 2002. The aim of the Project was to develop ways of involving children and young people with disabilities in decision-making in relation to health and social care and…

This paper presents research, commissioned by Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, examining changes in the availability and accessibility of publicly funded services to disabled children, young people and their families between 2011 and 2013. Methods included a survey of voluntary-sector providers and focus groups with family…

Family mediation is described as "helping to find a solution that meets the needs of you, your partner and any children, and that you all feel is fair". There is a growing consensus that, in comparison with court hearings, family mediation improves outcomes for parents and children, in cases of child contact and residence dispute.…

The Child Care Policy Directorate has responsibility within the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for the development and review of policy and legislation relating to the health and social care of children and young people in Northern Ireland. The Directorate aims to ensure that a broad policy and operational perspective is…

Services for families caring for a child with a learning disability are changing to become more family-centred, focusing not only on the child's needs but on those of the whole family. An evaluation of a newly developed Families Project in one Health and Social Service Trust area in Northern Ireland aimed to identify the impact on parents and ways…

This article presents critical commentary on the relationship between wider policy in Ireland for children, and the practice of social workers and social care workers who work with children on the ground level. An overview of the current policy context for children is achieved through a focused commentary on the literature. This operates around…

The Developing Everyone's Learning and Thinking Abilities (DELTA) parenting programme aims to promote both the holistic development of children and their parent's self-esteem in order to enhance the parent/carer and child relationship. DELTA operates on a multidisciplinary basis using a "Parents as Partners" model. The programme was…

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains a leading cause of infant death in the United States, and in Virginia. We sought to gauge the perceptions among community-identified stakeholders regarding community resource needs to reduce SIDS. Snowball sampling identified important community stakeholders to be interviewed as key informants. A…

Across Europe many states are experiencing severe pressures on public services, both from escalating need and from diminishing budgets. As a result, there is increasing interest in understanding how much is spent on services for children and to what effect. All government departments and selected voluntary organisations in Northern Ireland were…

This study investigated Finnish young people's experiences of supportive housing. Supportive housing is an after-care programme that should support the transition from foster care to independent adulthood. It is directed mainly at young people who have been taken into foster care by social workers. The sample consisted of 39 young people (23…

The overall purpose of a child protection conference is to safeguard children. The conferences are multi-agency meetings that aim to ensure children's safety, promote children's health and development, and identify when a child is at continuing risk of significant harm. Law and policies in the United Kingdom highlight that parents and children…