CrossRoads Association and Princess Royal Trust for Carers

Applied Policy and Practice Research Unit

AgendaPolicy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU)Aims of the projectMethodologyKey findingsUsing the findings

Who are we?We are a multi-disciplinary team of

evaluators, researchers, economists and ex-practitioners either based at or with links to Manchester Metropolitan University.

We work regularly with a number of partners from the private, voluntary and public sectors.

What do we do?We undertake evaluations and applied research projects for

clients in the public and voluntary sectors. We specialise in:

Impact evaluationsEconomic evaluationsEvaluations of new policy initiatives

The sectors we do most work in are:Criminal justiceCrime reductionLegal adviceYoung people’s servicesSubstance misuse

Aim of the researchAssesses the economic impact of Young Carer’s

interventions that are targeted on Young Carers affected by parental substance misuse and parental mental health problems. Research has established that the implications of being a

young carer include the risk of truancy, under achievement, isolation, mental and physical ill health, poverty and stress.

Risks particularly acute for young people affected by parental substance misuse (250,000 young people in the UK), parental alcohol misuse (1·3m young people) and parental mental health problems (4·2m parents).

The extra outcome achieved by the intervention compared with an alternative interventions

The economic value of these outcomes

The extra cost of implementing the intervention compared with an alternative interventions

We’ll estimate this by looking at published research (Rapid Evidence Assessment)

Data on the values of different outcomes such as school exclusion already exists

Gather information from site visits

Logic modelWorking with stakeholders at a national, regional and project level the project team map out the logic model underpinning the intervention ie what outcomes it is expected to achieve and how is it expected to achieve them.

Costing the interventionsVisits to case study sites will be undertaken to undertake a bottom-up costing of the interventions.

Evidence reviewExisting research and evaluation evidence is then reviewed using agreed criteria that defines how robust evidence must be to be included and allows for the review process to be replicated if it is repeated in the future.

ModellingA model is constructed that is shaped by the logic model and populated with data from the review process.

Stakeholder validationKey assumptions in the model can be tested and validated with stakeholders to ensure that there is a high degree of ‘sign-up’ to the outputs from the project.

This is where the bulk of the project resource will be focused

Outcome domain Short-term manifestations Long-term manifestationsCaring Reducing burden of care on young person

Improved care provision for the family from statutory services

Education and training

Reduced truancy from school

Improved school attendance

Reduced school exclusion

Attendance of vocational training

Increased qualifications

Increased chance of employment

Less benefit claims

More tax paidMental health Reduction in incidence of self-harming Reduction in incidence of poor mental

healthPhysical health Reductions in injuries or chronic

conditions associated with heavy liftingReductions in teenage pregnancy

Reductions in teenage fatherhoodChild protection Reductions in ‘looked after’ children Social exclusionOffending Reduction in offending Reduction in offendingSubstance misuse Reduced substance misuse Reduced substance misuseBehavioural Improved personal hygiene

Improved anger management

Improved social skills

Improved self-esteem as manifest by ability to form and sustain successful relationships with friends/partners/spouses

Rapid Evidence AssessmentThe Government Social Research website describes a REA as:

“ . . . a tool for getting on top of the available research evidence on a policy issue, as comprehensively as possible, within the constraints of a given timetable. . . . REAs provide a balanced assessment of what is already known about a policy or practice issue, by using systematic review methods to search and critically appraise the academic research literature and other sources of information.“ www.gsr.gov.uk/new_research/archive/rae.aspm

Key stages in an REAAgreed search strategy rigorously followed (eg defined

search terms, list of databases and publications that will be searched)

Criteria set for data quality and only data that meets criteria is included in the synthesis

A REA report will provide overview of what evidence is saying. Sometimes data synthesis is undertaken if data being reviewed is quantitative and sufficient studies of an agreed methodological quality exist to make such an approach possible.

REA outputsThe first search identified 1329 studies of which 81 were

retrieved.No papers met theoretical and quality criteria

The second search

Young Carers' Intervention

Reduction in probability of being

taken into care

Improved school attendance

Improved physical & mental health, e.g. confidence,

self esteem

Reduction in offending

Improved

employment prospects

Longer term improvements

in health e.g. reduced teenage

pregnancy rate

Reduction in costs of crime

Increase in tax payments

Breaking of misuse “cycle”

Reduction in benefit dependence

CostsWhat is covered? Key findingSet-up costs eg:

Equipment (e.g. computers, activity equipment, mini-bus)

Staff recruitment costs Running costs eg:

Staff (FTEs)Volunteers (FTEs)Steering groupAccommodation (rent)

The average cost of an intervention per capita is £2,500.

ImpactWe estimate that young carers’ projects have a 11 per

cent impact on reducing truancy among the young carers they work with.

We estimate young carers’ projects have a 1 per cent impact on reducing the risk of the young carers with whom they work being taken into local authority care.

We estimate that young carers’ projects have a 2·5 per cent impact on reducing the risk of the young carers they work with from becoming teenage parents.

SavingsCost Base Potential Saving per capita

Appropriate caring £7,827

Cost of Local Authority Care

Direct Cost £13,650

Extra Tuition £2,424

Risk of becoming NEET £34,500 £50,574

Improved Schooling £47,931

Reduced risk of teen pregnancy £130,405

Key findingsFor every pound invested in a Young Carers’ project the

saving to society is £6.72. A project working with 50 young carers a year would

have to do one of the following to justify its funding (i.e. ‘break even’):prevent truancy occurring or the taking into LAC of 3 young

carers who would otherwise have been at risk; orprevent one young person at risk of becoming a teenage

parent from becoming a teenage parent.