Glasgow Bridges: An Aberlour Family Service: Final Action Research Report

First paragraph: The Aberlour Glasgow Bridges service was established in June 2008 in the Possilpark area of North East Glasgow to work with families affected by parental substance misuse. The staff team came from a range of disciplines including education, health and social work services. The aim of the service was to develop and deliver interventions with parents, carers and children which make a difference to children's educational, health and well-being outcomes. The work with children was resilience-based with particular emphasis on enhancing protective factors in the areas of educational experience and attainment, peer relationships and social networks and activities

Principles of soft tissue augmentation for the aging face

In the quest for the “ideal” soft tissue filler, many diverse products have been developed. The expanding market of available fillers is a testament that no one product will ideally suit all patients or clinicians. In addition, the challenge of satisfying the criteria of an ideal filler has driven researchers to take a variety of development paths. This has resulted in multiple categories to characterize soft tissue fillers. These fillers are categorized according to: (1) filler material, eg, autologous, natural, synthetic; (2) mechanism of action, eg, void filler, neocollagenesis, fibroblast stimulation; (3) patient type and profile, eg, younger versus older patient, rhytids versus “sinking and sagging” skin; or (4) durability of treatment effects, eg, temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent. Although strategies for soft tissue augmentation may be quite diverse, strategies should share a universal goal to address fat redistribution (atrophy and hypertrophy), the primary underlying morphological cause of facial aging. To accomplish this, volumizers are now available that are injected more deeply, resulting in the restoration of supportive structure and foundation. These can be used in combination with other products that are used more superficially for smoothing skin surfaces. As numerous soft tissue fillers enter the market, mechanisms and injection techniques become more divergent, and therefore require that the dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon receive adequate training to use products safely and effectively. This manuscript provides an overview of soft tissue fillers and their proper use

Final Report

This study was undertaken to examine responses to young people in Scotland who run away from home or substitute care. The study, commissioned by 1 in 9, The Scottish Coalition for Young Runaways, originated from concerns about the experiences of young people who run away or are forced to leave where they live and aimed to find out more about the responses currently in place to address the needs of these young people

Review of Child Neglect in Scotland

Neglect is damaging to children in the short and long term. Neglect is associated with some of the poorest outcomes. It affects children in the early years, but teenage neglect, often overlooked, is also damaging. Formulating an effective response to neglect still poses national and local challenges

Perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption: the voices of children, carers and adoptive parents

This report has been completed as one part of the study 'Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland'. The study is the first in Scotland to investigate decision making, permanence, progress, outcomes and belonging for children who became ‘looked after’ at home, or were placed away from their birth parents (with kinship carers, foster carers or prospective adoptive parents) when they were aged five and under. Phase One of the research ran from 2014-18 and was designed to be the first phase in a longitudinal mixed methods study following a large cohort of young children into adolescence and beyond. It is anticipated that Phase Two will commence in 2020. Phase One of the research was fully funded by a legacy and was undertaken by a team from the universities of Stirling, York, and Lancaster, in conjunction with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland. This phase of the study had five strands: Pathways to permanence for children who become looked after in Scotland (the Pathways strand)- This analysed data from the Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS) provided to the Scottish Government by all 32 local authorities on the total cohort of children who became looked after during the year 1 August 2012 - 31 July 2013 when they were aged five and under (n=1,836). Of the 1,836 children, 481 children were looked after at home and 1,355 children were looked after away from home. This strand of the study investigated children’s pathways into and through the looked after system over four years from 2012-16, including the route and timescales to permanence. Children looked after away from home aged five and under in Scotland: experiences, pathways and outcomes (the Outcomes strand)- Questionnaires were sent to the kinship carers/foster carers/adoptive parents and social workers of a sample of 643 children from 19 participating local authorities who became looked after away from home in 2012-13 and remained (or were again) looked after away from home a year later. Questionnaires were returned by 433 social workers and 166 carers or adoptive parents, providing detailed information on the children’s histories, circumstances, relationships, health and educational progress. Linking two administrative datasets about looked after children: testing feasibility and enhancing understanding (the Linkage strand) - Information about children who are looked after is collected from all 32 local authorities by the Scottish Government (CLAS data). Data is also collected by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) on all children who have contact with the Children’s Hearings System. For the first time, these two data sets have been linked through the Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN). Within the ADRN’s safe haven we were able to safely and successfully link SCRA and CLAS data on 1,000 children. As well as testing the feasibility of linkage this enabled a more complete picture of the experiences of children. Decision making for children (the Decision making strand)- During 2015-17, 160 decision makers were interviewed across Scotland mainly in groups, but some individually. These included social workers and allied professionals, members of Children’s Hearings, Reporters to the Children’s Hearings, independent consultants, members of permanence panels, and a sheriff. This enabled us to identity from a range of perspectives the factors which influence decision making for children Perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption: the voices of children, carers and adoptive parents (the Children and carers strand)- Although the children in our cohort are young, we wanted to hear directly about their experiences. Play and talk sessions took place with a sample of 10 children aged between three and eight years, and 20 kinship carers, foster carers, and adoptive parents were interviewed. The focus was what helped children feel secure, and what carers/adoptive parents said they needed to enable them to meet children’s needs. This report details this strand. The findings of the four other strands of this study will be reported separately. Please see the project website for further details

Women in Focus: An evaluation

First paragraph: The development and operation of Women in Focus resulted from the concerns that many practitioners, policy-makers and others have expressed in relation to the increasing imprisonment of women in Scotland (and internationally). There is evidence of considerable innovation and insight in the development of recent initiatives and actions which have emerged in Scotland; for example the 218 service in Glasgow (Loucks et al, 2006; Easton and Matthews, 2010) the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee on Female Offenders (Equal Opportunities Committee, 2010). However, innovative attempts, while making a significant difference to the individual women who are able to access them, are introduced and required to operate within, a wider social, political and economic context that can influence how services operate (i.e. short-term funding imposes its own constraints) and how ‘effective' these innovative services can be seen to be

Decision Making for Looked After Children in Scotland. Insights for policymakers and practitioners

Every year thousands of children in Scotland become looked after either at home or away from home. Many of those children will remain with or be reunified with their parents, but others will be placed permanently with kinship carers, foster carers or adoptive parents. The decisions made will have far-reaching consequences for children and their families, so it is important to understand what factors influence decision making processes. This briefing paper draws on findings from Phase One of the Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland research study (2014-2018). The study followed the progress of all children who became looked after in Scotland aged five or under in 2012-2013 (n=1,836) investigating decision making, pathways, and outcomes. This paper provides insights into the processes and pressures that influence decision making for looked after children in Scotland. It is produced at a time when systems are under review given that in 2017 the Scottish Government established the Independent Care Review, examining the underpinning legislation, practices, culture and ethos of Scotland’s care system. Key findings The legislative, policy and practice context for permanence decisions in Scotland is complex. The range of options offers flexibility to tailor decisions to a child’s needs but is potentially overwhelming. Decision making can be driven by processes and policies rather than a child’s specific needs. Use of legislation and guidance varies across Scotland, with differences in local practice. Making decisions is intellectually and emotionally challenging. The interface between local authorities, Children’s Hearings and courts was characterised as difficult and complicated; the focus can shift from the child to the dynamic between the systems and individuals involved. Decisions are influenced by capacity issues in terms of time, resources (including availability and number of carers or adoptive parents) and the skills and knowledge of professionals. The formalisation of kinship care has been a positive development, however, it does not meet the needs of all children and an emphasis on kinship care may exclude some children from other forms of permanence

Decision making for children

Every year thousands of children in Scotland become looked after either at home or away from home. Many of those children will remain with or be reunified with their parents, but others will be placed permanently with kinship carers, foster carers or adoptive parents. The decisions made will have far-reaching consequences for children and their families, so it is important to understand what factors influence decision making processes. This report draws on findings from Phase One of the Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland research study (2014-2018). The study followed the progress of all children who became looked after in Scotland aged five or under in 2012-2013 (n=1,836) investigating decision making, pathways, and outcomes. This report provides insights into the processes and pressures that influence decision making for looked after children in Scotland

Parents' perspectives of a universal early attachment programme in Scotland

The ‘A Good Start’ programme is a universal early attachment programme for parents and babies aged 8 weeks and over, run by a charitable organization in one Scottish local authority. The programme offers non-stigmatizing support and parents are encouraged to access other community resources on completing it. At a family level, the programme aims are that parents (i) have an increased feeling of well-being; (ii) are more attuned to their babies and (iii) are more aware of services and confident in becoming involved with them. The collaborative research study was undertaken by a small research team between March 2014 and January 2015. It had two strands—a collaborative element which involved developing and supporting the use of the outcomes frameworks together with project staff and direct evaluation work, namely collation of the ‘A Good Start Web’ outcome measurement tool results and conducting interviews and focus groups with parents, staff and volunteer instructors who delivered the programme. The objectives of the evaluation were to evaluate the extent to which the programme were met, using the ‘A Good Start Web’ outcome measurement tool, augmented by qualitative data. It was clear from the qualitative evaluation data that most parents who participated in the programme felt that they benefited from it in many ways. Parents valued the opportunity to meet with other parents for peer support, to undertake a practical activity to enhance the bond with their baby which relaxed them both and to reduce their anxiety about caring for an infant

Evaluation of the National Parenting Development Project

This evaluation provides an overview of the work of the National Parenting Development Project and adopts a case study approach to examine how the evaluation objectives were addressed in practice. The three case studies highlight a combination of approaches aimed at developing and supporting effective parenting work: Case study one highlights NPDP’s strategic work with one local authority in developing parenting services in the area; Case study two evaluates NPDP’s direct parenting programme delivery work in collaboration with a range of statutory and voluntary sector staff from within a second local authority area; Case study three provides evidence from NPDP’s direct parenting programme delivery work within HMP & YOI Cornton Vale