Inter‐agency cooperation between services for children and families in Ireland: does it improve outcomes?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17466661211261370 |
| Date | 07 September 2012 |
| Pages | 191-200 |
| Published date | 07 September 2012 |
| Author | Kieran McKeown |
Inter-agency cooperation between
services for children and families in Ireland:
does it improve outcomes?
Kieran McKeown
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the processes and outcomes of a five-year initiative to
develop inter-agency working between services for vulnerable 10- to 18-year-olds in a disadvantaged
area of Dublin, Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology included: review of documentation on 32
formal meetings of the network; 43 interviews with agency personnel involved in the network; in-depth
review of nine randomly selected cases which had been treated according to the network’s agreed
protocol of inter-agency case management.
Findings – The initiative created a vibrant inter-agency process in terms of developing and implementing
an agreed protocol for inter-agency care planning. However, assessment of the outcomes for young
people and their families showed that only a fewmade any improvement. Four reasons are suggested for
this relatively modest result: the target group of 10- to 18-year-olds had experienced neglect and abuse
over many years and this made it difficult to achieve positive outcomes for them; the quality and standard
of work by some staffin some agencies was questionable; agencies did not seem to include inter-agency
work in assessing theiroverall per formance, or the performance of individual staff; and most agencies did
not seem to have adopted an outcome-oriented, evidence-based approach to their work.
Originality/value – The paper points out that an effective and inclusive inter-agency process is
necessary but not enough for improving child outcomes; the sufficient condition for improved child
outcomes is effective intra-agency processes to deliver high-quality services and a policy environment
that supports and requires it.
Keywords Inter-agency working, Youngpeople, Process, Outcome, Ireland, Youth,
Government agencies
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
There is a general consensus in public policy that inter-agency working between services for
children and families creates more efficient and user-friendly services, and results in better
outcomes. This policy manifests in a variety of forms due to the diverse understandings of
inter-agency working (as cooperation, collaboration, coordination or integration) and the
different contexts in which it is applied (to different target groups, different categories of
agency or staff). Despite the consensus, it is not easy to evaluate this policy due in part to
the difficulty of separating inter-agency working from other influences on outcomes but also
due to the wide range of factors that may mediate this influence, and the often considerable
time-lag between increased inter-agency working and improved outcomes. As a result, it is
relatively difficult to find well-designed studies that show how and to what extent inter-agency
working improves outcomes for children and families, although there are some exceptions
(Crow et al., 2004; National Quality Improvement Center, 2009). At the same time, it is less
difficult to find evidence showing how the absence of inter-agency working contributes to
system failures in protecting children from neglect, abuse or even death (Inquiry Team to the
Roscommon Child Care Case, 2010; Lord Laming, 2003).
DOI 10.1108/17466661211261370 VOL. 7 NO. 3 2012, pp. 191-200, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660
j
JOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES
j
PAGE 191
Kieran McKeown is a Social
and Economic Research
Consultant based in Dublin,
Ireland.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting