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Mapping the journey: outcome‐focused practice and the role of interim outcomes in family support services
Author(s) -
Tunstill Jane,
Blewett James
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/cfs.12073
Subject(s) - interim , outcome (game theory) , payment , order (exchange) , service (business) , term (time) , family support , psychology , public relations , political science , business , medicine , economics , marketing , microeconomics , law , finance , physics , quantum mechanics , physical therapy
Longitudinal costly evaluations will always be important in order to understand the factors that impact on child, family and community well‐being over the long and medium term. However, in a policy era that accords major importance to the achievement of outcomes, e.g. payment by results, ‘outcome theology’ can pose threats to service access and professional morale in family support. It is essential therefore, to ascertain the short‐term outcomes of services in order to capture the trajectory of progress by families under stress. This paper critiques the concept of ‘the outcome’. It traces the development of this trend in policy and describes an alternative but complementary approach, which is based on capturing interim outcomes in family support services.