Press note: Early Intervention Foundation CEO comments on LGA's 'Brighter Futures' plan for children

Statement: for immediate release

In response to the publication today of the Local Government Association’s Brighter Futures plan, Dr Jo Casebourne, chief executive of the Early Intervention Foundation, an independent charity that champions and supports the use of effective early intervention to improve the lives of children, young people and their families, says:

"We welcome the LGA’s focus on improving understanding of 'what works' so councils and their partners are able to provide the right support for children at the right time. Early intervention can make a difference to outcomes for children but only if it is evidence-based, well implemented and carefully matched to the specific needs of a child or family.

"EIF research has highlighted the lack of evidence underpinning some of the practices and approaches that are widely used in both early help and the child protection system. As the LGA’s plan rightly highlights, more support is required to ensure that approaches which may be innovative, but are not yet well evidenced, can be robustly evaluated. We need to develop the UK evidence about what works for whom and when, and to fill the gaps in the available evidence about how best to respond to some of the issues driving demand on children’s services. 

"We look forward to working with the LGA and others to develop and disseminate the evidence about what works for children."

*ENDS

Notes:

• The Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) is an independent charity that champions and supports the use of effective early intervention to improve the lives of children, young people and their families, reduce hardship and improve value for money in the long run. As a member of the What Works network, EIF is dedicated to expanding and communicating the evidence base related to early intervention in the UK. For more information, see: http://www.eif.org.uk/
• For more information on challenges and next steps in improving the child protection system, see Improving the effectiveness of the child protection system: Overview: http://www.eif.org.uk/publication/improving-the-effectiveness-of-the-child-protection-system-overview/

Contact:

Mark Ballinger
EIF Head of Communications
E: mark.ballinger@eif.org.uk
T: 020 3542 2481 (switchboard)