Significant amounts of money and resources are spent on child and family services, so successful evaluation of whether or not they are achieving the best outcomes is therefore essential. This edited collection offers an international perspective on the challenges of designing and undertaking outcome-based evaluation of child and family services. With contributions from leading international experts, it introduces the key ideas and issues currently being debated in the evaluation of these services; discusses relevant approaches to designing and using evaluation methods; and provides examples of evaluation from the real world of policy and practice. Issues covered include setting appropriate indicators for service effectiveness, cross-cultural evaluation of service interventions, service user involvement in evaluation, and evaluations of family and community-based services. This invaluable book will be essential reading for policy makers, planners, commissioners and managers across child and family welfare services, as well as researchers and other academics in the field.

This edited collection offers an international perspective on the challenges of designing and undertaking outcome-based evaluation of child and family services. It introduces the key ideas and issues currently being debated in the evaluation of these services and provides examples of evaluation from policy and practice.

"This is the essential textbook for anyone working with parents. Sue Miller makes the theory come alive with real-life examples. Her long experience in this field and in-depth understanding make the subject accessible even to newcomers to the field. I strongly recommend that if you read only one textbook on work with parents, it should be this one." Mary Crowley OBE, former Chief Executive Parenting UK The importance of supporting parents is increasingly being recognised in research and policy, and there are continuing concerns about the consequences of failing to provide adequate support for parents. This timely book provides practical advice on how to set up and deliver parenting services that support parents and improve outcomes for children. It: Explores the latest research, policies and practices Includes reflective questions to encourage the reader to develop their own perspectives Considers changes to how modern families function Looks at providing support for fathers and male carers It is valuable reading for students, lecturers, practitioners, service managers and policy-makers and anyone working with children and their parents.

The focus on parenting in national UK policy has never been more apparent. This text explores some of the tensions that have emerged over the years in seeking to establish timely support and challenge for parents as we experience profound changes and variation in how families function. This is a book for anyone with an interest in being a parent, producing policy in relation to parents or supporting mothers, fathers and primary caregivers in the role they undertake.