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Measuring children's needs: how are we doing?
Author(s) -
Axford Nick,
Green Victoria,
Kalsbeek Annemieke,
Morpeth Louise,
Palmer Chris
Publication year - 2009
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/j.1365-2206.2008.00591.x
Subject(s) - needs assessment , quality (philosophy) , special needs , psychology , public relations , medical education , nursing , environmental planning , medicine , geography , sociology , political science , psychiatry , social science , philosophy , epistemology
Children's services in England and Wales are legally required to determine the nature and extent of children's needs in their areas as a precursor to providing needs‐led services. However, few needs assessments are ever published. This article analyses 83 such reports conducted between 1999 and 2007 in two local authorities in England (one urban, one rural), focusing on their quality and usefulness. It makes recommendations for improving practice in this important area, both in terms of the type of needs assessment required and how best to produce and use them.