Taking a Long View in Child Welfare: How Can We Evaluate Intervention and Child Wellbeing over Time?

Citation

McGhee J, Mitchell F, Daniel B & Taylor J (2015) Taking a Long View in Child Welfare: How Can We Evaluate Intervention and Child Wellbeing over Time?. Child Abuse Review, 24 (2), pp. 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2268

Abstract
This paper synthesises ideas generated from an international knowledge exchange seminar series to explore the potential and pitfalls in utilising routine administrative data and survey data for longitudinal research about children involved in public child welfare services. Methodological, technical and ethical issues are explored, including the challenges in capturing the nature, focus and intensity of intervention. It is suggested that assessing child wellbeing across a range of dimensions in the short, medium and long term may provide a better conceptual basis for research than defining specific outcomes.

Keywords
longitudinal research; data linkage; child protection; child maltreatment

Journal
Child Abuse Review: Volume 24, Issue 2