Outcomes and Effectiveness of Family Support Services: A Research Review. In Practice Issues.

report reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of different kinds of family support services, focusing on services in the United Kingdom, particularly for families who are disadvantaged or experiencing particular difficulties in their lives. The report also describes different evaluation methods and presents information on various" measures and scales used to evaluate family support services. Part 1 of the report presents the conceptual framework, defining family support services and examining issues involved in evaluating such services. Part 2 presents evidence for effectiveness of the following types of services: (1) day care and early education; (2) parenting education; (3) family centers; (4) pre-and postnatal home visiting; (5) befriending and support; (6) children's mental health intervention; (7) services for disabled children and their families; (8) short-term foster care; (9) social work support; and (10) family group conferences. Part 3 presents instruments used to measure child and family outcomes related to child development and behavior, parenting